Cursed Love
by lovefan123
Summary: Ryoma was cursed because of a sin he did not do. And what if he was cursed to be a GIRL for a year! And the worst part is, all the PoT boys like him in that way! How will SHE handle it? Will SHE be back to the real HIM?...A FujiRyo fanfic...
1. Welcome back, Echizen

**CHAPTER 1 – WELCOME BACK, ECHIZEN**

It was the last three days of summer and 4 months before the national tournament. The whole Seigaku tennis club is training and preparing for it. Nobody knows that a great surprise awaits them. After the training, coach Sumire dismissed them. They were about to go when they noticed that somebody was watching them. Everyone was curious of who HE is because his face was blocked by his cap.

"Who are you?"asked Sumire

Everybody was also curious. The boy sighed and adjusted his cap. That time, his face was seen.

"_Mada mada dane_." Ryoma said.

Everybody was shocked, glad, and happy of course. They started coming over closer to Ryoma. They talked.

"Since when are you here, Ryoma?" asked Sumire. "You surprised us, Echizen."said Momo " Nya, you're so cold, o'chibi. You didn't even informed us about this."exclaimed Eiji.

All agreed to what Eiji have said. They looked at Ryoma.

"_Mada mada dane__, senpai-tachi_." answered Ryoma.

Jokingly, everyone laughed. On the other hand, Just a meter or two, or even three meters away from Ryoma were Tomo and Sakuno staring at him. Tomo was very angry and jealous upon seeing the others close to his crush.

"Aah! I can't take it anymore."Tomo jealously yelled. "I can't just stand here with nothing to do just watching them taking all Ryoma-_sama_'s time talking."Tomo continued. "Stop it, Tomo-_chan_."Sakuno tried to stop her. But still, Tomo is angry.

"We should do something about this! It's okay if it's only the tennis club members, but look at that, Sakuno, the other OUTSIDER girls are near him. I can't stand staring it. They should first get my permission because I am the president of the Ryoma-_sama_'s fans club! Right, Sakuno?" asked Tomo. "Stop it, Tomo-_chan_. Calm down. It's so embarrassing." replied Sakuno.

Tomo got angry even more. She went closer to Sakuno with angry, mad, and scary face.

"Why are you like that, Sakuno? Aren't you a fan of him? You've always supported him in his matches but how could you do this?! I can't believe that you are like that!"Tomo scolded her. "Gulp..It's not like that though, Tomo. I don't mean like that."reasoned Sakuno.

Tomo's angry face started to fade away. She started to grin and said,

"Well, if that is so, why won't we go closer to Ryoma-_sama_."Tomo suggested.

Sakuno blushed. Tomo started dragging her closer to Ryoma. Sakuno just sighed because she can't stop Tomo. Questions were asked at Ryoma. Of course, Ryoma answered it all.

"So how's America, Echizen?"asked Fuji. "How's the tournament, Echizen?"asked Inui. "How's the girls there, Echizen?"asked Momo.

Everyone was silent and curious about Momo's question. Tomo and Sakuno blushed and obviously jealous about it.

"Gulp!"Tomo and Sakuno expected that Ryoma's lovelife is still vacant.

"All I can say is,"Ryoma continued, "America's fine."

Everyone smiled. And of course, Tomo was relieved. Momo stepped closer to Ryoma.

"Why won't you show us what you've learned in America?",Momo suggested.

Everyone there agreed to what he said. They also nodded. Ryoma just sighed and agreed because he now can't refuse. Fuji volunteered himself to be the umpire. They entered the court. All was excited about the match.

"This will be an interesting match." said Oishi. "You're right." answered Eiji. "Fuushuuuu!" muttered Kaidoh.

"You serve first, Echizen."Momo complimented.

The match has begun. Ryoma started to serve. The ball was so fast and made him earn the first point. Everybody was surprised about the serve.

"What was that serve?"asked Arai. "That ball was fast."said Inui. "I think that was a twist serve." said Eiji.

Everyone looked at Eiji.

"Nya?" asked Eiji "How'd you say so, Eiji?" asked Oishi. "Because look at his stance,(they looked at Ryoma while his doing his serve) it looks the same stance he used to do when he's doing twist serves." explained Eiji. "Oh yeah, it is still the same." said Oishi

. "15 – Love" announced Fuji.

The match continued. The first game was Ryoma's. The second game started. It is Momo's turn to serve. He served a strong serve. But still, Ryoma returned it. Momo done a net dash and returned it. Ryoma came closer to the net and done a Drive C. Once again, they are surprised.

"W-what was that?" asked Kaidoh. "That was amazing!" complimented Kawamura. "Drive C." said Ryoma. "Drive C?" said Oishi. "It's like Drive B because of the sliding movement there." said Eiji "A-amazing. Amazing, Echizen!" yelled Momo.

After few hours, the match has ended. The score was 6-2. Ryoma won the match. Everybody was amazed by him including Tezuka, the captain. They went out of the court. People started to heckle them. Tezuka came closer to Ryoma. Ryoma looked at him. The others looked at them, too.

"C-captain,"Ryoma said. "Echizen,"said Tezuka. "Captain," "Well done, you've never let your guard down."Tezuka continued. "Thanks."said Ryoma, "Welcome back, Echizen." said Tezuka.


	2. The Curse

**CHAPTER 2 – THE CURSE**

All the club members went home after what they did for the arrival of Ryoma. Ryoma went home himself. He'll be staying here in Japan for 3 to 5 months. He began to sleep. The sun started to rise. That day, there was no club activities to do. He wanted to meet up with his other senpais to jam up with.

"They said that we will meet at Kawamura senpai's sushi eatery." Ryoma murmered to himself.

He walked down the street. A meter away from him was an old, ugly woman who's morelike a beggar. She is wearing an old, dirty and teared duster. She is also holding a glass ball containing powder. She is standing in front of Ryoma. On the side of Ryoma were children playing a tennis ball. They tossed it then catched it. And again they tossed it and was supposed to be catched but the ball was tossed a little harder. It flew near Ryoma and rolled towards him. Ryoma didn't noticed the ball in front of him. He stepped on the ball and was slipped and tripped. He hopped unbalancedly towards the old woman. The old woman and Ryoma themselves bumped each other. The glass ball slipped from the old woman's hands and landed to the ground. It fell so hardy that cause it to break. The glass ball was shattered in pieces. Meanwhile, Ryoma and the old woman laid on the ground.

"Sorry." Ryoma said

But the old woman didn't heard what he said because she was focused in finding the glass ball. They both stood up. The old woman found the glass ball shattered in pieces. It made her very angry. She faced Ryoma angrily.

Ryoma told the old woman,"I'm so sorry, ma'am. I was not able to recognize the..," "Shut up, young boy!" she shouted. "Because of you, my glass ball was broken! The glass ball was very important to me!"

The woman was so angry because of Ryoma.

"It is because of the ball. I was not able to see it. It was just an accident." Ryoma answered. "It is because of your CARELESSNESS young boy!" again she shouted. "I told you it was the ball's fault. If it was not in my way. I'll…." reasoned Ryoma. "Oh stop reasoning! If you're just focusing in walking, you'll be able to recognize it. If you're careful, you can avoid the ball! Isn't that CARELESSNESS?!"

Ryoma was quiet. He didn't and couldn't answer the old woman.

"What you did was UNFORGIVABLE, young boy." She said.

Ryoma looked at the old woman. And then he looked down.

"What you did was crucial for me. You destroyed the peace in my heart. For now, I shall give you the right punishment."

Ryoma was shocked and a little scared and nervous as the old woman raise her right hand.

"W-what punishment will you give me?" he asked. "The punishment that you deserve, young boy." She answered.

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Then, the surroundings turned to color black. There was no other people except for both of them as if they were in the other dimension. Ryoma was shocked, afraid, and confused. The old woman started to raise her hand again. That time, Ryoma was a little scared of what will happen next. She snapped her fingers twice. After few seconds, nothing happened. Ryoma was a little relieved because nothing happened to him.

"May I now go home, ma'am?" Ryoma asked the old lady? "Why so sudden young boy? We are not done yet." She answered. "But nothing happened." He said. "Don't be so sure, young boy." "Gulp. What do you mean?" he asked. "Just wait and see." She answered confidently.

Slowly, Ryoma felt nervous and scared. After a few minutes, he felt dizzy, so hot, and nausea. The old woman started to laugh. Ryoma fell into his knees and then laid unconscious. In Kawamura sushi restaurant, Fuji, Momo, Oishi, Eiji, Inui, Kawamura, Kaidoh, Tezuka and Sumire waited for Ryoma.

"Where is that Echizen?" asked Momo. "He is already 30 minutes late. O'chibi." Eiji said. "I wonder where he is." Said Fuji.

After an hour, Ryoma was awaken.

"Was that only a dream?" he asked himself.

He looked around him. His surroundings is normal. It is like his room.

"Didn't I woke up?" he asked himself while looking at the clock. "Oh no. It is already 11:00 am. I'm already late! Our agreement with the _senpais_ was 9:00 am."

He stood up hurriedly and was about to change his clothes when he felt and noticed something.

"Why is my back kind'a irritating?" he said.

He scratch his back. He touched something weird. He looked at that weird thing.

"A hair? Why is this kind'a curly? And long?" he was confused. "Wait, my hair! My hair is so long!"

He rushed towards the mirror. He saw himself…

"What!!!"

He saw himself having a long hair. His hair was until his hips. It was a little bit curly.

"A girl?" Ryoma asked himself as he takes a look at his chest.

He noticed that his breast was kind'a enlarged.

"E!!"

He can't believe the strange things happening to him. He looked around the to see if either Nanako or his parents were there. None of them were there. He just sat on the bed sadly, still can't believe the things just happened. Suddenly, he heard a voice that came out from nowhere.

"Ha ha ha!" the voice said. "Old woman?" said Ryoma. "Yes, young boy. What a good guess. It's me." She replied as she climbed up the room's window in a cat form. "That cat, is that you?" he guessed. "Yes, yes. Again, a very good guess." "Is this the punishment you gave me?" he asked. "Yes, yes, yes! You are good, truly good in guessing young boy. That is the punishment I gave you." She replied. "W-why this? You may give me bad luck, o-or an extraordinary disease. Why this kind of, of punishment? Making me a girl, why this?" "That's because those punishments you mentioned earlier are not enough. Those don't satisfy me. That is the one and only punishment you truly deserve." She shouted. "And by the way, stop asking too many questions." She continued.

She stepped forward towards Ryoma.

"I am not really that bad so I will be your guide in your new world and life as a girl now."  
"You mean, this spell w-will last forever?! I will be a girl forever?!" Ryoma worriedly asked. "Of course…" "E! No!" Ryoma yelled in distress. "…no" the old woman continued.

Ryoma was confused of what she said.

"What do you mean?" "I said no. You didn't let me finish what I am saying. I was about to say OF COURSE NO. Don't panic."

Ryoma was relieved upon hearing what the old woman said.

"Until when will this spell work and last?" "You're lucky, you are the only person whom I gave the shortest time to suffer a punishment. That will only last for a YEAR." "Gulp! A year!" he shouted. "Why show me such an expression? You should be happy yet you're lucky. Other people that I punished suffered their punishment for 3-5 years. Do you want to suffer for 3-5 years?" "N-no."

She grabbed Ryoma to the sofa and they both sat down. The old woman will now tell him the most important details ……THE RULES…..

"One of the rules you'll need to follow is to act like a girl. I already made things you'll need to be a complete girl such as girl clothes, hair ties, comb and others. This house will be your home for now. Another rule is to keep this curse a secret. You should not tell anybody that you are cursed or else your punishment will last forever. You will be a girl forever. Tomorrow is Seigaku's first day of school so you'll attend." "What? Why?" Ryoma asked. "Of course you need to go to school. If you are worrying about the tuition fee, the uniforms, and other expenses needed in school, you don't have to worry about those because I have paid it already. By the way, your name is?" she asked. "Echizen Ryoma." He replied. "We should change your name." "Why, again?" "Of course, to hide your real identity. Change it to Ec…Ec….Echi, no umm..Ec…Ekahara, um..let's see….Ekahara Ryo…Ryo…okay! Your name will be Ekahara Ryoko." "Ugly name" he commented. "So, any questions?" "My family, my senpais, what will I say to them after I come back in my real form?" he asked. "Well I don't know. It's not my problem anymore. Just reason out. By the way, so far, you are the prettiest girl I've ever seen. Oh, I nearly forgot. There is one way to be back in the normal you without waiting for a year." "What is it?" Ryoma willingly asked. "A kiss, a kiss on the lips from a boy who loves you."

Ryoma was disgusted upon hearing what the old woman said.

"IMPOSSIBLE. That will never happen."

The old woman turned back.

"Oh really?" she murmured softly. "Did you say something?" "Nope, not even a single word. Well, good luck for tomorrow."


	3. First day high

**CHAPTER 3 – FIRST DAY HIGH**

"_Ring! Ring!"_ the alarm clock rang.

It is now the first day of school in Seigaku but still Ryoma is asleep. The old woman entered Ryoma's room to wake him up. She tapped one of Ryoma's shoulders.

"Wake up now, young boy, or should I say, young girl."

Those seem have no effect. Ryoma is still asleep.

"Hmm.." she told herself "I hate this! I should do something to wake him, I mean her. But what will I do?"

She thought of it. And at last! She came up with an idea.

"Okay." She took a deep breath. She started to open her mouth. "Ryoko!" she shouted at Ryoma. "Wake up now, you silly brat! Wake up now!"

Hearing those yells woke up Ryoma.

"E. What is it, old woman?" he asked her with a deep, lowvoice as if he was still sleepy. "What is it you asked? Well it's just your FIRST DAY of CLASS and your almost late." She replied and felt irritated. "Do I really have to do this?"he asked. "Of course! I can't just let you lock yourself in one corner just because your ashamed of yourself. And besides, not exposing you to other people doesn't satisfy me. I want to expose you and show you to others. That's also the rule of this kind of punishment."

Ryoma didn't say a single word. He just stood up, preparing to take a bath.

"Hurry up, you're going to be late for school!"

After taking a bath, he was about to wear his uniform, a girl's uniform.

"Am I really going to wear this?" he asked himself while looking ashamedly to his new uniform.

He remembered what the old woman said.

_*flashback*_

"_Do I really have to do this?"Ryoma asked. "Of course! I can't just let you lock yourself in one corner just because your ashamed of yourself. And besides, not exposing you to other people doesn't satisfy me. I want to expose you and show you to others. That's also the rule of this kind of punishment."_

_*end of the flashback*_

"I really have to do this."

Ryoma wore his uniform, his socks, and his shoes. He comb his hair and tied it in a ponytail style. He's done preparing himself to school.

"_Knock! Knock!"_ somebody knocked at Ryoma's door.

"I'm prepared already, old woman." He answered. "Just get out of your room and I'll wait for you at the garage!" "Huh?" Ryoma was a little bit confused.

He noticed that the old woman's voice seems like, strange, different. It seems like it sounds a little bit younger. It not hoarse anymore (because the old woman's voice was hoarse though). He was worried. He thought she was a stranger. Quickly, he grabbed his bag and ran downstairs and went straight to the garage.

"Old woman?" he finds the old woman. "Old woman, where are you?"

He was nervous as he finds the old woman. He was nervous about what he might see upon finding her. He walked backwards slowly and…

"What is it, Ryoko sweetie?"

A young, beautiful woman appeared at the back of Ryoma.

"Woh!" he was shocked. "Why such an expression?" the woman replied. "Who are you?" "I'm your mother." "My mom? That's ridiculous." "Hello?! I'm your mom for the whole year. I am your new mom, the mother of the new you, young boy." "MY NEW MOM?...Old woman? Is that you?" he suspected.

The woman smiled.

"You got that right." "But why are you---" Ryoma was amazed.

The old woman just shook his head.

"You forgot something." She said.

Ryoma raised one of his eyebrows.

"Forgot what?" he asked.

She smiled and said: "You forgot that I have magic."

"So that's why you became young." "Well, stop the talk. Get inside the car." "Um, what do you mean by 'NEW MOM OF MINE'?" asked Ryoma. "You can't completely hide your true identity without having a new mother. It will not complete you new identity."

Ryoma didn't asked anymore. He just went inside the car with her mom, new mom. The car will now go to the Seigaku school. Minutes later, they have arrived in the school. They both went out of the car. They stared at the school the outside of it.

"This is it." Said the woman.

Ryoma just looked down, with worried-looking. The woman noticed his gloomy face. She went closer to him.

"Don't worry, young boy. They will not notice you. You're now different. I'm sure they will not suspect you, I promise." She tried to cheer Ryoma up.

Ryoma just nodded, felt a little bit fine.

"If they asked you the name of your father, say ' Ekahara Zano '. If they asked you the name of your mom, say ' Ekahara Suzuki ' okay?" she winked her eyes.

She bid Ryoma goodbye and went inside the car to go home. Ryoma went inside Seigaku's campus. As she (Ryoko / Ryoma) walks on the hallway, her fellow students stared at her. Ryoko felt insecure about the students especially about the boys. She also felt insecure about his uniform. The stared her from head to toe. Most of them blushed upon seeing her. Some of them even gaped. Even the girls gaped upon seeing her. Ryoko felt more insecure and just walk faster than normal. She walked faster until she reached the door of her classroom. She slowly open the door of her classroom. She went inside it. At first, the class was so noisy. But when she went inside the classroom, the students stopped talking and stared at her closely. The teacher, Ms. Nanako Yuuri, was surprise upon seeing Ryoko.

"Are you my new student?" asked Ms. Nanako.

The students murmured after what she said. Ryoko looked down shyly and nodded.

The students smile and obviously happy to be with her. They were really, deeply amazed of her beauty. It seems like they were proud to have her as their classmate.

"Come in, come in, young girl. Come in." Ms. Nanako was happy. "Okay." Replied Ryoko shyly.

The students looked at her closely. The boys admired her even though they don't know about her. The girls, some of them, are happy. But most of them are jealous because she caught all the boys' attention. They envy Ryoko.

"Please introduce yourself."

She walked and stood up in front of the class.

"Okay. Um," started Ryoko.

All of the students lend their ears to her.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Ekahara Ryoko. Nice to meet you all."

All of them smiled. The boys and some of the girls cheered:

"Cute!" "You're right." Agreed Ms. Nanako.

Ryoko looked at her new classmates. She noticed that Horio, Kachirou, Sakuno, Tomo were one of them. He just didn't mind them as if she didn't know them.

"You may now sit down on that desk." Ms. Nanako pointed Ryoko desk.

Ryoko went straight to her desk. Sakuno was in front of her desk. Horio was at her left side while Tomo was on her right side. She sat down on her seat. Horio was maliciously smiling as if he wants Ryoko to seat beside him.

"E, Horio is very lucky." Said one of his classmate. "That's very unfair of you, Horio." Muttered his other classmate.

Horio just smiled.

"Well, this is not luck, this is destiny." Explained Horio.

Many of his classmates, most are boys, got angry to them and yelled at Horio. Ryoko did not mind it.

"Hello, Ms. Ryoko. I'm Sakuno Ryuzaki." Sakuno introduced herself to her. "I'm Tomo. I will be your seatmate." Tomo said. "Hello, miss beautiful! My name is Horio. Don't worry, Ryoko. I will protect you from danger…" "Shut up, Horio!" warned Tomo and Sakuno.

"Okay class. Stop chitchatting. Let's now start our class." announced Ms. Nanako.

"Yes." Replied the students.

The class started. But still, most of the students stares Ryoko. Ryoko felt insecure. She looked down. Her feeling of insecurity is seen through her face. Tomo and Sakuno noticed it. But still, the pupils are staring her. Tomo and Sakuno felt sorry for her. Tomo got angry to her classmates. She stood up with a fierce face and said:

"Hey, hey! Stop staring at Ryoko like that! She feels uncomfortable when you look at her that way! You know, for me, you boys are like perverts!" Tomo yelled angrily at her fellow classmates.

The class became quiet for seconds. Tomo sat down calmly. Sakuno told Ryoko:

"It is okay now, Ryoko-_chan_. Just leave it all to her."

Ryoko grinned a little and felt relieved. She looked at both of them.

"Thank you." She said.

The teacher continued teaching. Some of the students stopped staring at Ryoko. After few hours, the school bell rang which means that it was already break time. Tomo, Sakuno, Horio, and Kachirou talked with Ryoko. They told Ryoko about Seigaku and they told her more about themselves. The boys and girls started to come over to her.

"Hey, hey. Why are you coming closer to Ryoko?" asked Tomo. "Please stop coming closer to her." Said Sakuno. "I won't hesitate to fight you all." Warned Horio.

The students didn't listen to them. They just push them away, until they surrounded Ryoko. Tomo, Sakuno and the others can't go in to the crowd. They can't anymore go closer to Ryoko. The students began asking Ryoko about her favorites.

"What's your favorite—" asked one "Hey, shut up! It is my turn now!" said the other. "I'm the first one here so I should be the first one to ask her!" said another. "Oh, shut up!" the other said.

They quarreled each other on who should be the first one to ask her.

"Oh my god." Sighed Tomo.

Ryoko felt a bit irritated. Hastily, someone grabbed one of her hands.

"Hello, Ryoko. I'm Akira Ryu. But you can call me any name you like."

"E!" shouted the others.

Ryu was about to kiss Ryoko's hand. But Ryoko noticed it so she grabbed her hand back and quickly ran away from the crowd and out of the classroom. Tomo , Sakuno and all of their classmates got angry at Ryu. They went closer to Ryu slowly with very angry faces.

"RYU!!" they yelled. "What's with that faces, guys. Are you jealous?" he calmly said. "RYU!!!" they shouted louder. "Maybe not. But guys, I didn't successfully kissed Ryoko's hand. In fact, I missed it." Explained Ryu. "RYU!!"

They jumped towards him and fought him. Meanwhile, Ryoko stopped running. She breathe hardly. She noticed that she is at the Seigaku tennis club. She stared at it and saw her _senpais_ gladly.

"_Senpais_." She said to herself.


	4. Seigaku's Apple of the Eye

**CHAPTER 4 – SEIGAKU'S APPLE OF THE EYE**

She ran towards the tennis court where the regulars are. She came towards Momo first.

"Momo _senpai_**,**" she began to talk.

Momo noticed her and looked at her closely.

"Why does this gorgeous girlwant to talk to me? Does she admires me? I am very lucky." He murmured to himself.

Momo smiled and said:

"What can I do for a pretty and cute girl like you?" "I'm so…" "What is it? Don't be shy. Just tell me straightly that you adore me and I will be very proud to have you." He said to himself again. "W-wait a minute. Did he said….a girl….a pretty…..cute…..girl….a girl! " she thought. "Oh yeah, I forgot that I am a girl now!"

She remembered that she is a girl now, that she isn't Ryoma anymore.

"What is it, cute girl?" asked Momo.

Ryoko thought of what will she say to him that will continue what she said earlier.

"Um, I am s-so, so, um, I-I , I am so," "Don't be shy." Momo encouraged her.

At last, she finally thought of what she will say.

"I am s-so, so happy, right. I am so happy to…to see you in person, sir." She tried to smile.

Momo blushed and seemed to be very happy.

"I-I am v-very delighted to m-meet you too."

Ryoko a bit unhappy upon seeing Momo's expression. She will just say good things to avoid offending him.

"No, I should be the one who's happy to meet YOU in person." Ryoko lied.

Momo blushed even more. He was very flattered and glad hearing those words from a pretty and angelic girl like Ryoko. He feels like his in heaven.

"What's your name?" Momo asked her shyly. "My name is Ryo…..ko..right…I'm Ryoko." She answered. "Cute name, a very cute name. It fits you." "Really?" she doubted. "L-let's have a handshake." Suggested Momo. "Ok." She agreed.

Momo blushed more and more. Ryoko was about to hold the hand of Momo when:

"MO-MO-SHI-RO, let's have a….woah!" Eiji saw Ryoko.

He was very amazed of her angelic beauty. His heart beats faster as he looks at her. He gaped.

"CUTE…." Eiji said. "E! Eiji hurry up and get lost! You are in a wrong timing!" yelled Momo angrily.

"Hey, hey, what's happening here?" asked Oishi.

He went closer to Eiji. Fuji, Kaidoh, Inui, Kawamura, and Tezuka also went closer to him.

"Eiji, what happened here? Eiji? Eiji?!" asked Oishi.

But Eiji did not say a single word. He didn't even paid attention to him.

"It seems that he's not in himself." Said Fuji. "Why is he gaping?"asked Kawamura.

Tezuka saw Ryoko.

"You should ask 'WHO IS HE GAPING AT?' " said Tezuka.

Everybody looked at Tezuka.

"What do you mean?" asked Inui. "He's gaping at that girl." Tezuka pointed her.

They all looked at what he pointed. They saw Ryoko. Most of them are amazed of her beauty. Fuji was not really that amazed. And Tezuka, definitely not amazed.

"She's cute." Said Inui, Oishi and Kaidoh. "Who is she?" they asked Momo.

Momo smiled proudly. He put his one arm around Ryoko's shoulders.

"Well, she's just a FAN of mine." "E!!" they shouted. "Oi, oi, don't put your arm around her shoulders!" yelled Kaidoh. "Yeah!" yelled Inui, Oishi and Eiji. "I told you, she's a fan of mine!" answered Momo.

They got angry at Momo.

"But," said Ryoko.

Everyone looked at her.

"I never said I was a fan of yours." She said calmly. "E!" Momo said shockingly.

Everyone, except Fuji, Tezuka, and Ryoko herself, laughed at Momo. He was very disappointed.

"Ryoko-_chan_!" Tomo called her. "Let's go back in class!"

Tomo went closer at Ryoko. She grabbed her hand and they ran out of the club.

"W-wait, what about our handshake?!" said Momo.

He looked down sadly.

"That's what happen to an overcooled guy like you." Eiji provoked him. "Shut up! It's all because of you! You appeared at a wrong time! We were about to have a handshake!" "Well I guess I appeared in a very perfect time." Said Eiji.

They fought and fought. Tezuka stopped them. He punished them both. He made them run 20 laps around the court. Ryoko and Tomo reached their classroom. They both sat down.

"Thank goodness you arrived on time." Said Sakuno. "I kept finding her almost around the campus! Where have you been, Ryoko-_chan_?" asked Tomo. "I-I went to the tennis club to see the regulars of Seigaku." "E!!" "You really went there?" asked Horio. "How come you knew the exact location of the tennis club?" asked Kachirou curiously.

They all stared Ryoko with curious looks.

"Gulp! Um, I- I looked…..looked…."

They came nearer at her.

"I looked…I looked at…at a bulletin, yeah, right. I looked at a bulletin where there are the exact locations of the destinations here in this school." Answered Ryoko nervously. "Oh." "Maybe she's talking about the bulletin board near the school gate." Tomo said.

Everybody nodded. Ryoko was relieved. She thought that she couldn't answer that KILLER question anymore. But, anyway, she answered it and was saved. The class started. Once again, her classmates stared at her. But she was less insecure. She thought that this will always happen to her so she should be used to it. One of her male classmate made a paper airplane. He let it flew to her. The paper airplane landed at her desk. Everybody, except the teacher, saw it. Ryoko looked for the person who threw it to her. She found out that it was Ryu who threw it to her. He signaled Ryoko to open it. She followed and opened it. Something was written on the paper airplane. She read it.

It says:

_Dear Ms. Ryoko,_

_When I saw you at first, my heart beats faster. I wonder why is my heart like this. I s this love? I thought of this over and over again. I stared at you over and over again. I realized that, This definitely is love._

_You're the peanut of my butter, You're the ice of my cream, You're the hot of my dog, You're the pop of my corn, You're the guardian of my angel I see, Cause you're everything to me._

_Love, Ryu _

Ryoko felt so disgusted. She crumpled the paper. Ryu saw what she did to his paper. He was now a broken hearted person. He was very lonely. He really cried hard. After few hours, the teacher announced that it is lunch time. Some of the students went out. Tomo, Sakuno, Horio, and Kachirou went closer at Ryoko.

"Let's eat our lunch together." Sakuno suggested. "It will be fun!" Tomo said.

Ryoko just nodded. They was about to eat their lunch when some boys went closer to them.

"Hey, why are you coming closer to us?" asked Horio.

Horio, Tomo, Sakuno, and Kachirou stared at those boys angrily.

"We just want to join you eating." Replied the boys. "Well, we don't need others to join us." Answered Tomo. "We're satisfied if the 5 of us eats together." Added Kachirou. "Wouldn't it be happier if we join you?" asked the boys. "We're really happy that the 5 of us will eat together. I guess if we eat with you, it will only be a mess." Sakuno answered.

The boys became angry.

"Why won't we let Ms. Ryoko to decide?" the boys said. "Deal!" agreed Tomo. "Well," Ryoko started. "I am very happy…..to eat with them rather to eat with you boys." She answered.

Tomo and her friends are very happy. The boys became disappointed.

"So what now? A deal is a deal." Boasted Horio.

The boys went away. Ryoko, Tomo, Sakuno, Horio, and Kachirou ate together. After few minutes, the lunch break has ended. The class started. After few hours, the class has ended. The pupils went home. Ryoko, and the others went outside the classroom. Horio and Kachirou bid goodbye to them and went home first.

"Aren't you going to go home?" asked Ryoko. "Of course not yet." Answered Tomo, and Sakuno. "Why?" "We won't go home unless you go home first." Said Sakuno. "We are your guardians. We won't let anyone harm you. We want to make you feel secure." Tomo said.

Ryoko was a bit touched to what they said.

"Um," she started. "What is it?" they asked. "I, I want to make friends with you both." She said.

Tomo and Sakuno smiled.

"Of course we're friends!" said Tomo. "We're friends even at first." Sakuno said.

Ryoko smiled and seemed to be happy. Tomo and Sakuno saw her smiled.

"You're so cute!" they said.

She blushed. She saw the old woman. She bid goodbye to her new friends. She went to the old woman. They both went inside the car.

"So, how's school?" the old woman asked. "It's just fine." She answered. "I guess you made some friends." "Then?" "Were you able to enjoy school?" "_Mada mada dane_."


	5. Deeply In Love

**CHAPTER 5 – DEEPLY IN LOVE**

The next morning, Ryoko went to school. She went inside her classroom. As usual, many stared at her. She just ignored it. She also receives several love letters. She showed her friends those letters. Meanwhile, in the tennis club:

"Ah! I hope she comes again." Said Kawamura. "I hope I can have another chance to have a handshake with her." Murmured Momo. "I hope I can meet her soon." Said Eiji. "I hope that she will accept my gift for her." Said Inui. "Hey, what gift will you give to her?" Momo asked. "My SUPER GOLDEN SPECIAL BEAUTY INUI JUICE!" "E!" they yelled.

They seemed disgusted.

"This special juice help maintains the beauty of the one who drinks it! This is my masterpiece." "She definitely won't accept it!" said Eiji. "We'll warn her about the juices you make!" said Kaidoh. "This is different than the others I made. I made this with my special love and that's what made it different!" "That may be different but for sure the taste will be just the same!" "I will not respect you even you're my _senpai_ if you let her drink that stupid stuff. Fushuu!" yelled Kaidoh. "I'll be doing the same as Kaidoh if you did!" said Oishi. "If you let my angel drink it, I will definitely punch you and that's for sure!" said Momo. "Hey! She's not your angel!" said Kaidoh.. "She's my angel!" yelled Oishi. "No! She's mine!" yelled Eiji angrily. "She's mine!" yelled Kawamura. "She's definitely my angel!" yelled Momo. "She's mine!" "I said she's mine!" "No! She's mine!" "She will never be yours!"

They kept on fighting. Fuji and Tezuka heard their noises.

"Wow, they are fighting because of a girl." Fuji exclaimed.

Tezuka just stared at them. He came closer to them.

"30 laps for everybody!" he shouted.

They all heard it.

"E!"

They can't do something about it that's why they just follow what their captain said. After a while, they finished running. They were all exhausted as if they could hardly breathe! They drank water.

"Okay! That will be the end of our morning practice!" announced Sumire. "_Hai_!" the club members said.

They all went outside the court. Momo, Eiji, Inui, Kaidoh, Kawamura, Oishi, and Fuji went outside together.

"By the way, Momo, what's the name of that angelic girl?" asked Eiji. "Yeah, what's the name of my angel?" asked Kawamura.

"No! She's not your angel! She's mine!" said Oishi. "She's obviously mine! Fuushuu!" said Kaidoh. "She's mine!" said Inui. "NO! She's mine!" yelled Eiji. "She's mine!" "Mine!" "Mine!" "She's definitely mine!" "Who said she's yours? She's mine!" "No! She's mine!"

They fought again. Fuji just laughed. He was amazed to see them fighting for just a girl.

"She's mine!" "NO! I said she's mine!" "Shut up! She's mine!" "She's mine!" "She's mine!" "Aaaah!" yelled Momo.

They looked at Momo.

"Why is it, Momo?" asked Fuji.

Momo started to cry hard.

"Why is it, Momo?" asked Oishi. "Why are you crying?" asked Eiji. "I," he started. "What?" asked Inui. "I FORGOT TO ASK HER NAME!" shouted Momo. "E!" "Stupid, Momo! Why didn't you asked her!" said Kawamura. "You had the chance to talk to her. You just wasted it, you stupid fool! Fuushuu!" said Kaidoh. "Shut up, viper!" yelled Momo. "You want me to repeat it, huh!" yelled Kaidoh.

They fought. Oishi ran ahead of them.

"Where are you going, Oishi?" asked Fuji.

They all stared at Oishi.

"I'll find her!" answered Oishi. "E!" "I'll be the one to ask her name!" "E!" "Oh no you won't!" said Eiji. "I'll be the one to ask her!" yelled Kawamura, Kaidoh, and Inui. "Wait for me! I'll ask her for sure!" said Momo. "First come, first talk!" "Shut up!" "Oishi, wait!" "I won't wait for anybody!"

They all ran after Oishi. Fuji stared at them.

"They're deeply in love with that girl." He murmured.


	6. The Heart of Fuji

**CHAPTER 6 – THE HEART OF FUJI**

Fuji walked on the lobby near his classroom. He carried his bag. He reached his classroom and went inside it. He went to his desk and put his bag on it. He noticed that his bag was open. He closed it. Then, he thought that maybe something fell from his bag while it was open. He checked his things and there, he lost something.

"Where's my wallet?" he thought. "Maybe it fell while I was walking."

He stood up. He was about to go outside when his teacher stopped him.

"Where are you going, Fuji? We will start our class now." His teacher said.

He did not say a word. He just went back to his desk. The class started. Meanwhile, in Ryoko's class:

"May I go to the comfort room, Ma'am?" Ryoko asked her teacher. "O-of course, of course, Ryoko. You may go to the comfort room. Just take your time, sweetie." Replied Ms. Nanako.

Ryoko stood up and went outside the classroom. She walked on the lobby. To go to the CR, she should pass on the lobby of Fuji's classroom. On her way, she saw a wallet. She picked it up. She opened it to find out who's the owner of the wallet. She saw the picture of the owner. She stared at it.

"Fuji _senpai_**.**" She said. "He must be the owner of this wallet." She thought.

She remembered that she was about to go to the comfort room.

"I should return this to him maybe on break time."

She put the wallet on her pocket and went to the comfort room. After a while, she went back to the classroom.

"Okay class, break time!" Fuji's teacher said.

Some of Fuji's classmates went out. He remembered his wallet. He went on the lobby staring on floor to find his missing wallet. Ryoko's class also paused for a break. Ryoko remembered the wallet. She stood up and went outside the classroom.

"Where are you going, Ryoko-_chan_?" Tomo asked. "Somewhere." She replied.

She went straight to the lobby of Fuji's classroom. She saw Fuji. She went near to him. Fuji didn't notice her because Ryoko was at his back. He was finding his wallet on the floor.

"Excuse me." She said.

Fuji heard it he faced her. He saw her and was surprised.

"Fuji _senpai_ ." she said. "You know my name?" he said. "Y-yes." "What is it?" he asked.

Ryoko showed him his wallet.

"My wallet." He said.

Ryoko lend it to him.

"You found my wallet, thanks." "You're welcome."

She turned back. Fuji stared at her.

"Wait." He said.

She faced Fuji.

"What is it?" she asked. "May I know your name?" "My name?" "Yes." "I'm…..Ekahara Ryoko. Just call me Ryoko." "Wonderful name." "Really?" "Yes."

Ryoko looked down.

"I don't really like my name."

Fuji smiled. He went closer to her.

"Your name suits you well." Fuji said. "hmmm." Murmured Ryoko. "You know, Ryoko, some of the regulars are always thinking of you." "Like who?" "They are Oishi, Momo, Inui, Kawamura, and Eiji. I often heard them fighting because of you."

Ryoko was shocked. She did not expect what Fuji said. She didn't say a single word. Fuji looked at her and smiled. Suddenly, the school bell rang. It means that it is the end of the break time.

"I-I better go now. See you around, Fuji _senpai._" "Okay."

They bid goodbye to each other. Ryoko ran to her classroom. Fuji went inside his classroom.

"Where have you been, Ryoko-_chan_?" asked Sakuno. "Yeah, where have you been?" Tomo said. "Somewhere." Ryoko answered.

Tomo and Sakuno looked at each other confusedly. Ryoko sat down and soon, the class started. After few hours, it is their lunch time.

"I'd better go to the tennis club for another practice." Said Fuji.

He went to the tennis club. He saw the other regulars. He saw them talking and he went nearer to them.

"Aah! I did not see my angel." Murmured Oishi. "What did you just said?" asked Eiji. "You're starting it again!" yelled Momo. "I was not able to ask her name." said Oishi. "Now what? We don't know her name." said Kaidoh.

Fuji smiled and went closer to them.

"I know her name." Fuji said.

They all stared at him shockingly.

"E!"

They all ran towards him.

"You knew her name, Fuji _senpai_?" "Really?!" "What's her name, Fuji _senpai_?"

Questions were thrown to him. They were all jealous at Fuji.

"The question is, HOW DID YOU KNOW HER NAME?" Momo suspected Fuji.

They stared at Fuji with terrible faces. They started to suspect him.

"I asked her. I asked her name." said Fuji. "E!" they yelled. "You mean, you saw her?!" asked Momo. "Where? When?" asked Eiji. "Take it easy, guys." Said Fuji.

They got angry.

"How could we take it easy?! You talked to my angel!" yelled Momo angrily. "Yea—Hey! She's not your angel." Said Kaidoh. "Yeah, Kaidoh's right!" said Oishi. "Shut up, everyone! Fuji, how did you get her name?!" asked Eiji.

They all stared Fuji curiously.

"I lost my wallet." Fuji started. "Then?" said Kawamura. "What's the connection of that?" said Momo. "It was break time. I was finding my wallet on the lobby. She went near me. She touched me…" "E! She touched you?!" "I faced her and saw her. She lend me my wallet. Of course I thanked her. I asked her name and she told me—I'm Ekahara Ryoko. Just call me Ryoko.—that's what she told me." "Ekahara Ryoko, what a wonderful name!" said Eiji. "Aah! You're so lucky, Fuji _senpai_." Momo said. "Yeah, but…" Oishi said. "But what?" asked Inui. "Do you admire Ryoko, Fuji?"

They were shocked to what Oishi asked Fuji. They all stared at Fuji worriedly.

"Do, do you like her?" asked Eiji.

Fuji just stared at them.

"A-answer us! Answer us Fuji _senpai_!" Momo yelled angrily. "NO." answered Fuji.

Everybody was relieved.

"Sorry I shouted at you." Said Momo. "We're sorry too. We're sorry we suspected you." They said.

Fuji smiled.

"Okay, I dismiss you!" said Sumire.

They went home. Ryoko's class was also dismissed. She went outside the school, same as Fuji. But, they did not noticed each other. They walked through the street. While walking, Ryoko saw a child at the middle of the crossroad. The child didn't notice a car at his back. The car was running in a fast speed. The driver saw the child but the problem is, he cannot stop the car as if it was out of his jurisdiction! The child saw the car running towards him. The child was very scared and was not able to move. Ryoko saw the child. She was very worried so she dropped her bag and run towards the child trying to save him. She pushed the child away. The car was running towards Ryoko now. Fuji saw can't run away away from the car anymore. The car was very near to her. She was very scared. She closed her eyes. At last! The driver stepped at the controller that stopped the car. But unfortunately, Ryoko was hit by the car. She fell down.

"RYOKO!" yelled Fuji.

Ryoko was not severely injured. The only part that was injured was her left knee. Fuji was so worried that he ran towards Ryoko quickly.

"Ouch!" Ryoko murmured. "Ryoko." Said Fuji. "Fuji _senpai_." She thought.

Fuji saw blood, much blood on Ryoko's knee.

"I need to bring you to the hospital." He said. "There's no need." Ryoko said. "What do you mean? You are injured. Whether you like it or not, I will bring you to the hospital." Fuji said. "But,"

Fuji immediately carried Ryoko. Ryoko was shocked. She blushed and felt so insecure as Fuji carried her.

"Hey, w-why are you carrying me?" she reacted. "I need to bring you to the hospital." He answered. "But you can't carry me like this! You can just guide me on my way to the hospital. It's so shameful if you carry me like this. People will think something bad about me! About my personality!" "It's not right for a guy to only guide a girl who is injured like you." "But,"

Fuji didn't mind what Ryoko would say. He ran with Ryoko on his arms. Ryoko blushed even more. But suddenly, she felt a bit dizzy. And then, she soon collapsed. Fuji stared at her. He was so worried when he saw her collapsed. He ran faster and at last! He reached the hospital. The doctor brought Ryoko to the emergency room. Fuji waited outside the room.

"I hope she's okay." He told himself.

He waited and waited.

"Why does it take a long time?"

Soon, the doctor went outside. Fuji went towards him.

"What's her condition now, doctor?" he asked. "Well, she's better now. She had a fracture on her left knee. She can go home now. But, she needs to take a rest on her house for a week for her to recover completely." "Okay, thanks."

Fuji secretly paid her bill. He went to Ryoko's room.

"Ryoko, you can go home now. I will take you to your house." He said. "I can go home by myself." She answered.

She stood up. She started to walk. She felt the pain of her left knee. She just ignored it and walked. She can't walk well. Fuji just watched her. Ryoko went out the room. She went to the cashier area.

"Excuse me, I want to pay Ekahara Ryoko's bill." She said. "I'll look for it." Answered the cashier.

Ryoko patiently wait.

"Um, it's already paid." "Huh? What do you mean?" "It is already paid."

Ryoko was surprised.

"What? It's paid already? By whom?" she asked the cashier.

She was very curious on the person who had paid her bill. Fuji went near her.

"I paid it." Fuji said. "What?!" She looked at him.

She went towards Fuji.

"I paid it already."

Ryoko was upset. She was angry at Fuji. She frowned.

"Do you think I'm a beggar? I can pay it myself." She said angrily. "No. I don't mean like that. I saw what you did for the child. I saw the whole thing. You know, that child was my sister's friend. I know that she will cry if something bad happens to her friends. Please accept this as my thanks to you." He explained. "I don't need a reward from you." "Please?" begged Fuji.

Ryoko just ignored him and walked out. Fuji was worried if she could go home by herself. And so, he followed her secretly. Ryoko walked and walked to reach the exit. But suddenly, she tripped herself and fell. Fuji quickly ran towards her.

"I told you, you can't go home by yourself." Fuji said as he carried her. "What the—Put me down! I can go home by myself! Just put me down! Don't be stubborn! I said, Put me down!" yelled Ryoko.

Fuji didn't listen to her. He just called a taxi and went inside it.

"Where are we going, Sir and Ma'am?" asked the driver. "Oh we're not going anywhere cause I'm out of here!" she replied as she opens the door of the taxi hurriedly.

Fuji grabbed her hand to stop her.

"We're going to this address." Said Fuji.

He lend a card where the address of Ryoko is written.

"Hey, that's my calling card! Where'd you get that?" said Ryoko. "From this." "My wallet,"

He lend the wallet to her. She stayed quietly.

"Um, can I ask something?" said the driver. "What?" answered Fuji. "Are you two in a sweet relationship?"

They both were shocked.

"NO!" they answered quickly. "Really? Cause I see you have a good harmony, what I mean is, you are a good couple." "Me? Him? A good couple? Are you serious?" yelled Ryoko.

Fuji blushed. His heart beats faster than the usual. The driver shut his mouth and drove until they reached Ryoko's house.

"Here's the payment." Ryoko lend the payment. "No, I should be the one to pay it."Said Fuji. "No way. I should pay it myself. If you pay for this, it's too much."

Ryoko went out.

"Can you walk by yourself now?" "I can handle myself." "Okay." "By the way, thanks." She went inside her house.

Fuji blushed and seemed so happy. His heart beat faster and faster. He called a taxi to go home. On his way, he called his brother, Yuuta.

"Hello?" said Yuuta. "Hello." "What's up?" "I just what to ask something." Fuji said. "What is it?" "If your always thinking of a girl and you blushed and your heart beats so fast everytime you see that girl. When she tells you something good about yourself, it makes you so happy. Yuuta, what do this mean?" "That's simple. That person is IN LOVE with that girl. Hey wait a minute, your asking this be--- You're IN LOVE! Your asking this because you are IN LOVE! Who's that lucky girl? Don't deny!"

Fuji was shocked. He put down his cellphone.

"In love, I think I'm in love with Ryoko."


	7. The Visit Part 1

**Chapter 7 – The Visit (Part 1)**

Ryoko went inside her house. The old woman saw her and her wound on her left knee.

"Oh my God! What happened to you, Ryoko?!" the old woman asked. "It's just nothing. I just got hit by a car but it's not too hard. I injured my left knee." Ryoko answered.

"But how did you go to the hospital? Your injury seemed to be severe." "Fuji-senpai brought me to the hospital."

The old woman smiled.

"Oh, Fuji, a man…." Said the old woman. "Don't be malicious! If you think I'll fall for him, I'm sorry cause that will never happen!" expressed Ryoko.

"Why are you so defensive?" Said the old woman.

Ryoko was shocked. She did not say a single word anymore. She turned back, and ran straight to her room. The old woman smiled.

"I smell something fishy around here." She said.

She followed Ryoko to her room.

"What did the doctor say?" asked the old woman. "He said I should rest for a week." "So, you need to skip school for a week."

Ryoko nodded.

"Old woman," she said. "Yes?" "I want to ask something." "Then what is it?" "I-I wonder why my senpais don't mention or say something about Ryoma, as if they don't remember the old me." Ryoko asked. "The truth is, I made them forget you, the old you." "But why?" "It's because you behaved well and I guess it is right to give you a small reward. But don't worry, they will remember you as soon as the spell last." The old woman explained. "My family," "Your family as well."

Ryoko smiled and began to sleep.

"Aaah! Ryoko is absent." Momo said. "I wonder what happened to her." Said Kawamura. "Oh no! W-what if, SHE'S SICK!" yelled Eiji. "She's ill?!" yelled Inui. "We should visit her!" said Kaidoh. "Hey, that's a good idea!" Momo said. "But the problem is, DO WE EVEN KNOW WHERE SHE LIVES?" Eiji said.

They all frowned thinking that they can never visit Ryoko. Suddenly, they saw Tomo and Sakuno walking at the side of the court. They ran towards them.

"Hey, hey! The senpais are running towards us." Tomo said. "What's happening?" asked Sakuno. "HEY GIRLS!" the senpais yelled. "What is it, senpais?!" Tomo answered.

They all stopped in front of Tomo and Sakuno. They're catching their breath.

"Hey girls, Ryoko is classmate right?" asked Kawamura. "Yes, Kawamura-senpai." "Do you know where she lives?" asked Inui. "Her address?" Sakuno asked. "Yeah, fuushuu!" Kaidoh answered. "Because we don't know her address." Momo added. "Actually, we don't know either." Tomo answered. "E!" "You don't know your friend's address?!" yelled Eiji. "But, do you the reason why she is absent today?" asked Oishi. "Nope." "Do you know her telephone number?" Kawamura asked. "Nope." "Her Mother's name?" Eiji asked. "Nope." "Her father's name?" Inui asked. "Nope." "Her favorite color?" Oishi asked. "Nope." "Her Favorite food?" "Nope." "What! You don't know anything about your friend?!" "Yup."

The senpais were all disappointed. Fuji went near them.

"What's the matter guys?" he asked. "We want to know the reason why Ryoko's absent and her address." Momo answered. "She's injured." Fuji said.

They all faced at Fuji shockingly.

"What do you mean, Fuji?" Oishi asked. "She was injured yesterday because she was partially hit by a running car. She injured her left knee. The doctor said she should rest for a week." "What! How'd you know?!" Momo asked. "I saw the accident. I brought her to the hospital and I was the one who brought her to her house." Fuji answered. "You, you know where she lives?" Eiji asked. "Exactly." "Where does she lives?"

Fuji smiled and said:

"Well, it's for me to know and for you to find out."

Everybody was surprised. They don't expect Fuji to be like that. And so, they suspected:

"You'll not say her address?" Kawamura said. "You'll keep it as a secret." Inui said. "So, does this mean you're in love with her too?" Momo asked.

Fuji smiled.

"Honestly, yes."

Everyone was shocked. They can't believe what he said.

"Let's meet here in the afternoon." Fuji suggested. "Why so?" Eiji asked. "We'll all visit Ryoko in her house." Fuji said. "Really?! You said---," "It's not good to be selfish, I guess. That's why I'll share with you her address. But remember, this is the last time I'll share something about her." Fuji warned them. "Okay!" they cheered.


	8. The Visit Part 2

**Chapter 8 – The Visit (Part 2)**

"Alright!" Momo yelled. "I'm going to visit Ryoko this afternoon and I CAN'T WAIT!"

Momo was very excited like he couldn't wait for an hour. He went inside his classroom.

"I'm gonna visit Ryoko. I-I can't believe it!" Eiji thought. "I should be prepared."

Eiji still can't believe he's going to visit her. He was excited and at the same time, nervous. He went to his classroom.

"This a-afternoon," Kawamura said. "I will visit R-Ryoko. This is a big opportunity for me!"

Kawamura was very surprise and he was very nervous. He went to his classroom.

"Oh, I will visit her this coming afternoon," murmured Oishi. "Aah! What will I do?!"

Oishi's face turned red. He is thinking of what he'll say when he face his crush. He ran to his classroom.

"I'll finally meet Ryoko personally. I should fix myself so she won't be disappointed." Kaidoh said.

He went to his classroom.

"I should give something to her," Inui said. "I should give her something special. Ah, I know! I will give her my SUPER GOLDEN SPECIAL BEAUTY INUI JUICE LIMITED EDITION!" he thought. "I think that's a bad idea."

He frowned and went to his classroom.

"I should give her something like a gift." Momo thought. "Right! That's a good idea. But I'll have no time to buy her a gift. I MUST give her something. I know."

Momo stood up. He went towards his teacher.

"Sir, may I go to the restroom?" asked Momo. "Hmm, okay but be back in a minute or two." His teacher answered. "Thanks, Sir."

He ran out of the classroom immediately. He smiled.

"I deceived my teacher, but I really need to do this. I need to skip class in order to buy her a gift. But don't worry teacher, I'll be back in an hour or two." He said as he run out of the campus.

He went to a mall. He searched for a thing that would make Ryoko like him. Eiji, Oishi, Inui, Kaidoh, Fuji, and Kawamura thought of the same idea with Momo. They skipped classes to buy her a special gift separately. After an hour, Momo returned to his classroom and so do the others.

"MOMOSHIRO! Why did you come back this late?!" his teacher yelled angrily.

Momo did not expect his teacher to be that angry. So he reasoned out.

"Gulp! Sir," he started. "What is it?!" "Um, I-I, I, I got LBM! My stomach hurts too much. It took so long for me to get rid of this stupid illness! I'm so sorry." He explained. "O-okay."

He sat down to his chair and waited until his classes are over.

"Ryoko, this is for you." the old woman said as she lends a pink cellphone to Ryoko. "A cellphone, in pink?" Ryoko said. "From now on, you should use this phone." "Why? I already have a phone old woman." "Uh-uh! You MUST call me Mom. My name will be Suzuki, your mom. Remember?" Suzuki said. "Okay, MOM." Ryoko replied. "But why should I use this phone although I have my own?"

Suzuki smiled and said, "According to Rule Number 23, The things you owned on your previous identity are not allowed to be of use on your new identity. This means you should get rid of those things you own when you are still Echizen Ryoma. You must own new things while you're Ekahara Ryoko. You understand?"

Ryoko can't say no anymore so she accepted her new phone. She sat down on a sofa and began to watch television. The school bell rang in Seigaku. This means classes are over.

"Yehey!" yelled Eiji. "Classes are over! I can now visit Ryoko! Yehey! Yehey!"

Eiji was so happy. But he remembered they still have club activities. He was so desperate to visit her now, so he decided to skip his club activities. He ran to go to their meeting place.

"Momo!" he yelled. "Eiji," Momo said.

Inui, Kaidoh, Kawamura, Oishi, and Fuji were also there. "You're skipping our club activities too?" asked Oishi. "Of course! Nothing can stop me from visiting her. I know you guys are also doing the same too." He answered. "Of course!" They yelled. "So let us go now, Fuji." Inui said. "Okay." Fuji replied.

They all rode a bus.

"Mom," Ryoko said. "What is it?" asked Suzuki. "How did you make them forget about Ryoma?"

Suzuki grinned and said, "Follow me."

Ryoko followed her to Suzuki's room, magical room. The room was full of crystals and crystal balls in different sizes.

"What's with this mysterious room?" Ryoko asked. "Look at this," Suzuki showed her a small crystal ball. "A crystal ball?" "Yes." She answered. "Inside this crystal ball is my spell." "The spell that made them forget about the old me." Ryoko guessed. "Exactly." Suzuki answered. "This room is sure full of crystal balls." Said Ryoko. "Inside each of this crystal balls are spells I gave to other people. If a crystal ball breaks, the spell inside it will be broken. This means that the person whom I cursed that spell will be back to his/her normal life." Suzuki explained. "So the crystal ball that I accidentally broke made the spell broken too." "Exactly. The person I cursed was set free because of you."

Ryoko smiled.

"I know what you're thinking," Said Suzuki. "What?" asked Ryoko. "You'll try to break the crystal ball where the spell I gave you is." Suzuki guessed. "N-no." "Don't lie to me. You know you can't break the spell I gave to you, because you're the one that is cursed by that spell. It's only me or others can break that spell. You can't break your own curse." She said.

Ryoko kept quiet.

"Let's go downstairs now." Suzuki said.

Fuji, Kaidoh, Momo, Oishi, Eiji, Inui, and Kawamura arrived on the place of Ryoko. They stood in front of her house. They were all nervous and excited.

"I should look presentable." Momo murmured. "I should look decent." Murmured Fuji. "I should look neat." Inui said. "I should look handsome." Said Eiji. "I should look great." Kaidoh murmured. "I should look good." Oishi murmured. "I should look cool." Kawamura said.

They fixed themselves and together, they sprayed on themselves perfume, unexpectedly.

"Ah! You sprayed perfume too!" yelled Eiji. "This is my idea!" Inui yelled. "No! This is my idea!" Momo defended himself. "No! I picked my perfume first!" answered Oishi. "Shut up! Heaven knows I am the first one!" said Kaidoh. "Stop lying! God knows I am the first one!" Kawamura said.

They kept on fighting. They fought and fought. As they are fighting, Fuji went towards the door of Ryoko's house.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Somebody's knocking." Said Ryoko. "Who could that be?" asked Suzuki.

Momo and the others heard it and stopped fighting. They rushed towards the door. They quickly fixed themselves.

Knock, knock, knock!

"I'll get it." Said Suzuki.

She went to open the door. She was surprised to see handsome boys in front of her.

"W-what a surprise! What are you boys doing in here?" Suzuki asked. "Good afterno—"

Eiji immediately covered Fuji's mouth. Eiji began to talk.

"Hi, miss. Are you the sister of Ryoko?" he asked.

Suzuki blushed.

"Ah, no no, I'm the mother of Ryoko. I'm Ekahara Suzuki." "E!!" they yelled.

They can't believe that she was a mom. They thought she was too young and was the sister of Ryoko.

"N-now I know, Ryoko inherited her beauty from you, miss Suzuki." Said Momo.

They all nodded.

"Oh, thanks. Come in, come in."

They went inside.

"Ryoko, sweetie! You have some visitors!" yelled Suzuki. "Visitors?" asked Ryoko. "Oh I can hear Ryoko's voice!" said Kawamura. "Here they are!" said Suzuki.

She let them sit on a sofa in their living room. And in the living room, they finally saw Ryoko. They can't believe their eyes! They stood up immediately and bow and greet her.

"Good afternoon Miss Ryoko!" they greeted. "Senpais." She said.

She stood up and bowed down and greeted too.

"I'll make some drinks." Said Suzuki.

She left them to make some juice.

"Why a-are you guys here?" asked Ryoko. "We w-want to visit you." Said Kawamura. "I can't believe she's talking to me." He thought. "W-we're just, you know, c-concerned." Said Eiji. "I can't believe I'm talking to her now." He thought. "How's your knee?" asked Fuji. "It's getting better." Answered Ryoko. "Fuji's so cool." Oishi said. "He's not shy." Said Kaidoh.

Silence followed. After a while,

"Ryoko-chan, this is for you!" They said as they lend their gifts to her. "O-oh," said Ryoko. "Ah! You have gifts too?!" Momo yelled. "I should ask that question to you!" said Kawamura. "I got that idea first!" said Oishi. "That idea is mine!" said Inui. "It's mine!" yelled Kaidoh. "It's mine!" yelled Eiji. "It's mine!"

They fought again.

"Sorry for their behavior." Fuji said. "Mada mada dane." She said. "Mada mada da--?" Fuji murmured. "Oh, i-it's nothing. Just my expression." She explained.

"Oh,"

Suzuki saw them fighting. She grabbed a broom and hit them one by one.

"Ouch!" said Momo. "Ouch!" said Kaidoh. "Ouch!" said Oishi. "Ouch!" said Inui. "Ouch!" said Kawamura. "Ouch!" said Eiji. "How informal of you boys!" Suzuki said. "Ma'am!" they greeted. "What an attitude of you! In front of my daughter!" "Old wo—I mean, Mom." Ryoko said. "Sorry for their behavior, Suzuki-san." Fuji said. "Oh! That's what I call 'formal'." Said Suzuki.

They stood up and bow and say sorry to her.

"Okay sit down." Said Suzuki. "Thank You!" they said. "Now, you guys should know more about my precious daughter." "Yes, yes." Oishi said. "So, why don't you communicate with her everyday." She said.

They blushed and smiled.

"It is a good idea." Fuji said "It's not a good idea, it's a very good idea!" said Inui. "M-mom!" said Ryoko. "It's okay, sweetie. So, why don't you give them your phone number." She said. "What?!" Ryoko said.

They were very happy except for her.

"Go ahead and tell them." Said Suzuki.

Everyone looked at her. She now has no choice but to give her number to them. She gets her pink phone. She told them her number. They now have her number and they were so happy.

"Um, Ryoko-chan," Kawamura began to talk. "What?" she said. "Is your favorite color PINK?" he asked. "Pink? That's ridiculous!" she said. "You're right! Her favorite color is Pink. She likes pink so much." Suzuki said. "Wait, n—" said Ryoko.

Suzuki winked at Ryoko.

"Okay, it's my favorite color." She finally agreed. "Miss Ryoko," said Oishi. "Just call me Ryoko." She said. "What's y-your favorite food, Ryoko?" Asked Oishi.

He blushed. He was shy to ask that question. Silence followed.

"I-it's okay if you'll not tell it." Oishi said with a bit of disappointment.

They were also disappointed.

"My favorite food, let me see, um," She began to answer his question. "Ryoko-chan," Oishi's disappointment began to fade away, so do the others.

He was so happy that she noticed him. He feels that he is in heaven.

"Um, it's Katsu Don. And of course, Sushi." She answered. "That's indeed very tasty!" he said. "I agree, I agree." Momo said. "It's my turn to ask now. Um, what's your favorite pet?" asked Kaidoh. "Cat." She answered. "Cats are very cute." He said. "I agree, I agree." Momo said. "What's your favoritecolor?" Inui asked. "Silver." She answered. "Then I should make you a special juice which silver in color." He said. "INUI!" they yelled. "It is a bad idea." Inui said. "I agree, I agree." Momo said. "What's your favorite subject?" asked Momo. "English and Science." She answered. "You know, English is very easy and um, you know, I understand English and I speak English fluently." He said. "We disagree, we disagree." They said. "I'm really good!" he said. "Liar!" they said. "Ryoko, what's your favorite sport?" asked Eiji.

Ryoko did not say a single word. She looked down sadly.

"Ryoko, answer it." Suzuki murmured.

They all looked at Ryoko. She lift her head up.

"Tennis! Tennis is my favorite sport." She answered. "Tennis? You know we play tennis too. That's our favorite sport." "We agree, we agree." "When's your birthday?" Fuji asked. "December 24." She answered. "That date is nice." He said. "I agree, I agree." Momo said. "Um, Ryoko, what's your type of guy?" asked Kawamura.

Everybody was surprise about his question. And of course, she can't answer that.

"Nothing," she said. "E! What do you mean?" Momo asked. "Okay, okay, I think she is tired and needs to rest so see you later boys. Go out now and good afternoon. Thanks for visiting." Suzuki said as she drags them out. "Goodbye Ryoko!" they said. "Ryoko, what's your type of guy!" yelled Kawamura. "Stop it now, Kawamura." Said Fuji.

They did a flying kiss to her outside. They went back to Seigaku.

"Those guys were a mess." Said Suzuki. "Definitely." Ryoko said.

Fuji and the others arrived in school. But unfortunately, Tezuka saw them.

"30 laps for everyone!" he yelled. "E!" Momo and the others said.

And so, they ran 30 laps around the court and end it panting.


	9. To The Hyoutei

**Chapter 9 – To The Hyoutei**

_Ryoko, please come with me! _

_I like you Ryoko!_

_I love you so much Ryoko! _

_Marry me Ryoko! _

_MWAAHH!_

"Huh!"

Ryoko woke up from a deep sleep.

"That was a disgusting nightmare!" she reacted.

She was very disgusted because of the nightmare she just dreamt. She tried to get that out of her mind.

"Ryoko! Come down now!" yelled Suzuki.

"That old woman," Ryoko murmured.

"I heard what you just said! Come down now or else," Suzuki said.

"How come she heard that. I was just murmuring to myself."

She went downstairs. She brought her phone with her.

"Eat now, Ryoko." Suzuki said.

"Okay." Ryoko said.

They sat down.

"So how's your new phone?" Suzuki asked.

"I don't need it anymore." Ryoko replied.

"What?!" Suzuki was shock.

"You heard me right? I said, I don't need it anymore."

"Why?"

She lends her phone to Suzuki.

"Look," she said.

Suzuki looked at her phone.

"How can I use my phone when every minute there's always a new text message." Ryoko said.

"Oh, 27 messages received. Won't you answer those?" Suzuki suggested.

"I answered some of them yesterday. They're asking personal questions. I got tired answering them. And everytime I do, they send more and more text messages." She explained.

"But if you keep ignoring those texts, they send you more and more too."

"But still, they'll send me even more too."

"So what are you gonna do?" Suzuki asked.

"I don't know."

Suddenly, her phone rang.

"Uh, you're phone is ringing." Said Suzuki. "Why don't you answer it?"

The phone kept ringing. Ryoko decided to answer it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Ryoko-chan! Good morning!" Eiji greeted.

"Eiji senpai?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm so happy that you recognized my voice."

"Oh,"

"How are you feeling now, Ryoko-chan?" He asked.

"Why would you like to know?" She asked.

"Because, you know, you just locked up in your house. And um, I just want you to you know, um, go out." He nervously asked her.

"You want me to go out?"

"Yes, exactly. Um, you know, I'm inviting you to go with us."

"But my knee,"

They continued talking. Suzuki listened to their conversation.

"Oh, um, i-it's okay." Eiji was disappointed.

"Where are you guys going?" she asked.  
"We'll have a practice match with Hyoutei academy, you know, tennis." He answered.

"To Hyoutei?" she thought.

"You know, I thought you'll be interested, but i-it's okay." He said.

"I'll go." She said.

"Oh, you'll go. Um, it's okay if you'll not g—What?!"

"I said, I'll go." She repeated.

"Really?! Oh you don't know how happy I am right now! Thank you, Ryoko-chan!" he said excitedly.

"Hmm," she said.

"Don't worry, Ryoko-chan. I'll fetch you there in your house. I'm on my way now. I'm riding a bus now! I'll be right there in just a minute!"

"Okay, bye."

Eiji was very overwhelmed and was so, so happy and excited. He stood up inside the bus. He began to dance in front of people.

"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!" he cheered.

He danced and danced. People watched him and laugh silently. He did not care about the embarrassment. He just danced his heart out until he arrives in Ryoko's house.

Inui, Oishi, Tezuka, Fuji, Kaidoh, Momo, Kawamura together with Fudomine tennis club arrived at Hyoutei.

"Where's Eiji?" Fuji asked Oishi.

"He said he'll fetch someone with him." Oishi answered.

"Who could that be? Fuushuu!" Kaidoh wondered.

"Someone special," said Momo.

"Or his big family," Kawamura said.

They all laughed. Meanwhile, in Ryoko's house:

"What did he say?" Suzuki asked.

"Eiji invited me to watch their club's practice match against Hyoutei." Ryoko said.

"You'll go there?" Suzuki asked again.

"Yes," "But your knee?"

Ryoko looked down. Then silence followed.

"Okay, don't worry. I'll heal that." Suzuki smiled at Ryoko.

"You can heal?" she asked.

"Yup! So cheer up young girl. You don't need to worry."

Suzuki put her hand in front of Ryoko's injured knee. A light flashed from her hand. Slowly, the wound began to heal.

"It's healing," Ryoko said.

After a while, the wound healed completely. Ryoko was very happy.

"It's injured no more." Suzuki said.

"Thank you," Ryoko was grateful to her.

"So, go now." Suzuki said as she points the door.

"Eiji-senpai will fetch me. He said he's on his way now."

Suzuki was drinking water at that time. Upon hearing Ryoko's words, she spitted water from her mouth.

"Really?!" She said.

"Yes. I need to take a bath now." Ryoko answered.

"No, no, it'll take time!" She said.

"I should take a bath. If I'll not, I'll be smelly!" Ryoko said.

"I have magic you know. I'll make you bathe and be fixed in just a second."

"What?"

Suzuki snapped her fingers. A light flashed from Ryoko. In just a second, Ryoko was fixed. Her hair was damp, her clothes changed. She wore a sleeveless shirt and a mini skirt.

"What're all these!" Ryoko blushed and felt very ashamed of what she is wearing.

"You're so cute!" Suzuki said. "What's so cute about these disgusting clothes?"

"That's what GIRLS wear, duh!" she said.

"But!"

Somebody began to knock at their door. They both looked at the door.

"Ryoko-chan! Good morning!" Eiji greeted from outside.

"It must be him." Suzuki said. "I should change my outfit!"

Ryoko ran to change her outfit. But Suzuki stopped her.

"Let me go." Said Ryoko.

"Uh-uh!" Suzuki shook her head.

She snapped her fingers again. Then, the door opened.

"Ah! The door opened itself!" The amazed Eiji said.

Ryoko looked at him.

"Eiji-senpai," she said. "Oh no, the door did not open itself. It's just the wind." Suzuki explained.

Eiji looked at Ryoko and was amazed.

"Y-you're so beautiful," he said. He blushed and blushed even more.

Suzuki pushed Ryoko towards him.

"Hurry up. Don't keep him waiting." She said.

"But,"

"No buts!"

She went out of the door. Eiji looked at her closely. He blushed and blushed even more. He faced Suzuki and bowed and said:

"Don't worry ma'am! I'll protect her and I'll take care of her! I promise! i will risk my life for her! I will never ever let anyone hurt her--- " Eiji said.

The Suzuki smiled.

"Okay, that's enough, I get it already. Go ahead now, bye!" Suzuki greeted.

"Hai!" they both said.

They went and rode a bus. Eiji was so shy. He wants Ryoko to be happy with him. He doesn't want her to be bored. They sit beside each other. Eiji's heart began to pound. Ryoko looked outside through a mirror. She placed her head on her hand.

"R-ryoko, are you hungry?" he asked.

"No," she answered.

"Thirsty?" "No,"

Eiji thought of something else to say to prevent her from boredom.

"You know, when we were playing tennis outside his house, he chased after the ball. He was running so fast that he did not noticed n the rainwater in front of him. He slipped himself and landed his face on mud. His face was so funny! Hahaha!" he joked to make her laugh.

Ryoko did not laugh. It seemed to be nothing to her. Eiji stopped laughing.

"Um, you know, I like rock music," he said.

"So?"

"Do you like it too?" he glared at her with eyes full of hope.

Silence descended on both of them. Eiji began to lose hope. He frowned and looked down with teary eyes.

"I can't. I can't make her enjoy our time together. She will never be happy with me. Why? I can feel the pain slowly, stabbing my heart. Does this mean we're not inevitable?" Eiji thought.

He felt so depressed. Suddenly,

"Eiji-senpai," Ryoko called.

He lifts his head immediately. He was surprised. He began to grin. He regained his lost hope. He felt he's in heaven.

"Hai, Ryoko-chan!" he blushed.

"Um," Ryoko lifted one of her eyebrows.

"What is it?" he asked sweetly.

"You talk too much." She said frankly.

"E!"

His world shattered in pieces. He was greatly shocked. He froze.

"Eiji-senpai?"

He did not say a single word. Ryoko just ignored him and stayed silent.

"Eiji's taking a long time." Inui said.

"Our first match against the Hyoutei is about to start." Oishi added.

"Where the hell is he?" asked Momo.

Their first match was about to start. But no Eiji arrived yet. They waited. The members of the Hyoutei academy—Atobe, Kabaji, Jiro, Oshitari, Gakuto, Shishido, Chotaro, and Wakashi—were all there. Fudomine is there too. They noticed that Eiji was still missing. So, Atobe walked towards them.

"Somebody's still missing," he said.

They looked at him.

"Yes. Eiji is still missing. But we're pretty sure he's on his way now." Fuji answered.

"So, you're Golden Pair is still not ready. This match will be ours for sure." Atobe boasted.

"Don't be so sure Atobe." Tezuka replied.

They looked at each other.

"They're burning hot!" said Ibu.

Kamio ran towards them and he tried to stop them.

"Hoi, hoi! Cut it off already." Kamio said.

"We're here to have a match right? We're not here to argue." Momo added.

"Hey, hey! Don't get in my rhythm!" Kamio told Momo.

"Why? I should stop them too because Tezuka is OUR captain." Momo exclaimed.

"I started stopping them first so I'll be the one to finish it!" yelled Kamio.

"You're just showing off!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!" they argued a lot.

Fuji, Kawamura, Ishida, and Ann stopped them.

"Both of you, please stop arguing!" Ann yelled.

Momo and Kamio looked at Ann's irritated face. And they stopped.

"Ha ha ha ha," Atobe laughed at Tezuka.

"What's so funny?" Tezuka asked.

"Tezuka, Tezuka. You still have not changed. You're still cocky. You are confident that your team will win against us."

"But you are more confident than me." Tezuka answered.

"I sure am."

They looked at each other with fierce eyes. Suddenly, Eiji arrived. He arrived sadly.

"Eiji!" yelled Oishi.

"Where have you been?" asked Kaidoh.

Questions were thrown at him. Ryoko came in. they saw her and was surprise. They, including Fudomine and Hyoutei, blushed.

"She is HOT!" said Chotaro.

"She is DAMN PRETTY!" said Kamio.

"She is so ANGELIC!" Shishido and Wakashi said.

"She is so SEXY!" said Jiro.

"She is CUTE!" Oshitari murmured. "Yes." Said Kabaji.

Atobe did not compliment, but deep inside, he was really amazed of her beauty. Fudomine was also amazed by her.

"Ryoko-chan!" Momo and his teammates said.

"Welcome, Ryoko." Kawamura said.

"It is really a pleasure to have you here." Kaidoh said.

"Ryoko's her name," Kamio thought and so do the others.

They went near her.

"Hoi, hoi! Why are you running towards MY girl?" said Momo.

"Your girl? Stop dreaming Momo." Fuji reacted.

Fuji looked at Momo with angry eyes.

"E-eventhough you'll be angry with me, I'll never give her up!"

Those words hit Eiji ears. It motivated Eiji.

"Never give her up," Eiji wondered. "He's right!"

Eiji's life went back to him. He regained his energy.

"I should never give her up! I will never give Ryoko up!" he yelled.  
"Ryoko-chan, my name is Kamio!"

"I'm Ibu."

"I'm Shishido!"

"Chotaro is my name!"

All the boys introduced themselves. She was being crowded by boys. As they introduce themselves at her, they tried to reach Ryoko's hands. The Seigaku boys courted her. They stopped the others from touching her. They were all after Ryoko.

"Get out of my way!" said Jiro as he pushes the others away. "What the—go sleep there, Jiro!" said Momo. "Ryoko!"

They all fought. They were pushing and hurting each other. Tezuka and Atobe looked at them.

"So, Ryoko's her name. Cute name. She is interesting. Just perfect for me." Atobe murmured.

Tezuka heard Atobe. He looked at him with sharp eyes…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**_Stay tuned for the continuation of this chapter. _**

**_Watch out for the next chapter_: Matches of Love (_continuation of this chapter_)...**


	10. Matches of Love

**CHAPTER 10 – Matches of Love**

"Hoi! Hoi! Stop getting near at Ryoko!" Momo said fretting.

Everyone was still trying hard to get near Ryoko. Ryoko then felt annoyed so do Fuji, Kaidoh, Inui, Eiji, Momo, and Taka. Eventhough the annoyance of their faces are visible, the others still trying to get near her. Atobe and Tezuka just stared the crowd. Then Atobe smiled and raised his right arm and snapped his fingers. The snapping thing caught everyone's attention.

"I guess it is the right time to start the match." Atobe said arrogantly. "Right, Tezuka?"

Tezuka did not answer him. He just looked at his teammates and said, "Stop what you're all doing! Let us now start the match.."

Being ignored by anybody makes Atobe angry. He stared at Tezuka angrily and tried to control his anger.

"You heard what Tezuka said right? So stay away now and get yourselves prepared." Eiji instructed.

Everyone had nothing to do but follow. They scattered away from the huge crowd. Ryoko felt relieved. She breathed out hard and pouted. Fuji went near her and ruffled Ryoko's hair. She felt annoyed even more because she hated being treated like a little kid

"It seemed like you won the crowd." He smiled in a way he always does.

Kaidoh went near them and told Fuji, "She always wins the crowd."

"I agree with you, Kaidoh." Fuji replied.

Tezuka began calling Fuji and Kaidoh. They both excused themselves to her and then entered the court. While her guardians are out, Kamio, Ibu, Ishida, and Kyousuke took advantage. They went near Ryoko. Kamio reached Ryoko's shoulders and held it tight. Ryoko widen her eyes. She looked at Kamio and Kyousuke. Hyoutei and Seigaku greeted each other on the court. They bow down to each other. Kaidoh turned his head and looked outside the court. And there he saw Kamio and Kyousuke touching Ryoko. He got angry, very angry. He went out of the court and rushed towards them. His teammates gazed at him.

"Is he mad?" asked Eiji.

"You bastards!" yelled Kaidoh as he rushed towards them. Ryoko saw him. "Kaidoh-senpai," she called. "Stay away from her you bastards!" he yelled with anger.

This caught everyone's attention. They saw Kamio and Kyousuke holding tightly Ryoko's shoulders. They all gone mad and rushed towards the place except for Tezuka and Atobe.

"Why the hell should you instruct me?!" answered Kamio. "You are overprotecting Ryoko. It seems that all of you, Seigaku regulars are courting her!" Kyousuke added.

Ryoko sighed and was annoyed.

"Here we go again." Muttered Ryoko.

Meanwhile,

"Yes we are courting her. And what is it to you?!" Momo scolded. "AH! BURRNIINGG! GOD DAMN! We are just protecting her from creeps like you two!" The burning Kawamura said.

Tezuka got irritated and went near to his teammates. Atobe just smiled.

"Don't act as guards!" yelled Kamio. "We'll not if you would take your hands off Ryoko's shoulders." Fuji calmly told Kamio. "Kamio! Put your hands off her!" yelled Kyousuke. "Nya! I'm warning you Kamio!" said Eiji.

Tachibana, Ann, and the rest of the Fudomine tennis club confronted Kamio.

"Stop it, Kamio-kun!" Ann said.

Kamio did not listen.

"Stop it Kamio!" Yelled Tachibana.

But still he won't listen. Tachibana was disappointed. This is the first time that one on his teammate disobeyed him. He tried to stop him again, but it has no effect.

"If you won't take your hands off her, be prepared for a fight!" boasted Momo.

but Kamio did not listen to him. Instead, he held her shoulders tighter. Ryoko got angrier and this time, she slapped Kamio's hands away. Kamio was shocked and so do the others. They saw Ryoko's angry face. Her expression made her _senpais_ angrier at Kamio. Kamio's heart was pounding as Momo and the others started to walk towards him with their clenched fists.

"Stop!" warned Tezuka.

They stopped.

"Is that the way tennis players behave?" asked Tezuka.

Tezuka began to walk towards them. They kept quiet while Tezuka scolded them. As Tezuka scolds them, Ryoko walked backwards to get out from the crowd. As she walks backwards, she bumped onto somebody. She turned back. There she bumped Atobe.

"Atobe," she called.

Atobe smiled and gazed at her.

"What a pleasant greeting from a girl like you." He said.

She did not say another word. She just gave him an uncongenial look, making Atobe displeased. But he soon smiled. He began to caress Ryoko's cheek and then held her chin that made Ryoko lift her head.

"What a displeasing attitude of yours. But, it made me interested of you even more." Atobe said.

Ryoko gave him an uncongenial face once again. She gazed at Atobe. Atobe just smiled. He moved his head slowly closer to Ryoko's face targeting her lips. Ryoko was dazed. She thought of pushing Atobe away. But, in an unknown reason, she felt numb that she couldn't even move a bit. She thought of a way to escape this kind of situation. She tried to yank off but she was numb. She needed help this time but no one's there to help her. All the people are busy to their conference with Tezuka. Now, Atobe's lips are getting nearer and nearer as seconds pass by. She began to panic. She could hardly move until their lips were an inch apart. She couldn't do something about it. She forcedly closed her eyes silently begging for help for the first time. Now, they were 2 centimeters away. She suddenly remembered:

_*flashback*_

_There is one way to be back in the normal you without waiting for a year." "What is it?" Ryoma willingly asked. "A kiss, a kiss on the lips from a boy who loves you."_

_*end of flashback*_

"A kiss will make me Ryoma again. If that's so, I need to do this." She thought. "But, this is such a shame for me. This is....so disgusting! I'd rather die than to kiss a man like I was....before!" she doubted.

Her words gave her strength. She tried and tried to yank off. Now, their lips are only a centimeter apart. And…..At last! She is numb no more! She yanked off immediately from Atobe. Atobe was disappointed but his face was expressionless. He regretted after letting the chance of kissing her escaped. Eventhough he was disappointed, he just smiled at her and laughed. Ryoko's heart was pounding so hard because of fear. She almost kissed a person of the same gender like she was before! She turned back and touched her chest feeling her heartbeats, she panted, and tried to forget what happened earlier. He smirked and then, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. This caught everybody's attention.

"Nyaa! Here he goes again." Eiji murmured. "Should we start our match now?" Atobe asked. "Captain's right!" Jiro said. "We just wasted much time lately. We should start now." Oshitari agreed. "Okay! We should start now!" said Kawamura. "On to the court!" they cheered as they march down to the court. "*Sigh* At last they're on to the match." Ryoko muttered.

She watched them march down. In her great surprise, they looked at her (except Tezuka) and said:

"This match is for you."

But Atobe just looked at her and smirked.

She blushed and told herself, "This is such a shame."

After seeing the boys did for Ryoko, Ann became angry. But she did not show it to anybody. She decided to hide it first. The players were inspired. They were fired up because of Ryoko. They now called on the players of the first match. The players were—Oishi and Eiji versus Choutaro and Shishido.

"Interesting," Ryoko muttered.

They went inside the court. The rest including Ryoko watched at the side outside the court. The rest were apart from Ryoko.

"Let's now start the match." The referee signaled.

The two teams went near each other.

"Which?" asked Eiji. "Smooth," answered Shishido.

Eiji spun his racket, it stopped and landed. It was Smooth.

"Choutaro will serve." The referee announced. "Okay!" Choutaro cheered.

Meanwhile, Atobe called his servants. He let them prepare his summer lounge chair and an elegant coffee table. He sat down on it while his servant lends him lemonade. Once again he caught everybody's attention.

"Hah! Showing off!" Momo grumbled as he looked at Atobe. "Just say you envy him, Momo!" Kaidoh fussed. "What?!" Momo yelled in anger. "Want me to repeat it again?!"

"Shut up Viper!"

"Hoi, hoi, your temper Momo, your temper." Kawamura said.

"Don't tell that to me, tell it to him!" Momo pointed Kaidoh.

They kept fighing and left Kawamura behind. Atobe looked at them and smirked.

"It's a shame you got that brats in your team, Tezuka." He said.

Tezuka heard what he just said, so do the others.

"What?!" Kaidoh and Momo got pissed off.

"You brats are too short-tempered and---."

"Mind your own business, Atobe." Tezuka told him.

Atobe shut his mouth up and got angry. He then gave his attention to the match. Oishi and Eiji prepared themselves. Choutaro prepared to serve. He tossed the ball and said:

",_Ikyuunyuukon!"_

Then, he hit the ball with much force. The ball went too fast that the Golden pair did not return it. Everyone was surprised. They almost did not see the ball because of its terrific speed.

"A scud serve!" Eiji guessed. "A scud serve?" Oishi doubted. "Yeah. A scud serve." Eiji answered.

"15 love!" the umpire announced.

Everybody, almost everybody, still can't believe it.

"A scud serve? It's faster than before." Momo said. "It improved so much." Kaidoh added.

Fuji smiled and laughed shortly.

"It's getting more and more interesting." He murmured.

"Interesting," Ryoko said to herself.

Once again Choutaro served the ball. It was a scud serve. The golden pair did not have the chance to return it for it was faster than the first one.

"It's faster!" murmured Inui. "Should it be slower the second time?" asked Kawamura. "They got stronger, much stronger than before." Fuji said.

"30 love!"

"Uh-oh, this match is a tough one." Momo said. "Just watch the match." Tezuka told them.

Tezuka looked at the golden pair. _"How will you handle this, Oishi, Eiji?"_ he thought.

_"Come on, Choutaro. Show them your true power."_ Atobe thought.

Choutaro serve it again. But this time, it gone a bit slower. Golden pair focused on the ball. They noticed its speed change. And they took advantage on it.

"Eiji!" Oishi called. "Okay!" Eiji replied.

Eiji ran sidewards and summersaulted to reach the ball faster. He hit the ball but it was too strong that it made his racket flew away. Eiji landed on his feet.

"40 love!"

He lifted his right hand and looked at it. He noticed his hand shaking. "That was strong," he thought.

"My scud serve, how---" Choutaro murmured in disappointment. Shishido seemed shocked but he did not show it. He notice Choutaro's disappointment. He went closer to Choutaro. He patted him.

"Hoi, Choutaro, don't be disappointed." he said. "They did not even returned it and they never will." he tried to cheer him up.

"But, they almost did." Choutaro exclaimed. "You just have to be more focused in the game and I assure you, they will fail to return it. So, cheer up." he replied.

Choutaro looked down and said, "Hai." in a low, distressing tone.

"Aahh! That was so close!" screamed Eiji. "Right, you almost returned it. And you'll completely return it the next time." Oishi said.

"He almost returned it!" Momo said. "Just a bit more force and I'm sure they can return it." Inui said. "The speed of ball slowed up, noticed it?" Kaidoh asked. Inui nodded.

"Yes. It is because Choutaro's energy was used up already. He then used less energy on the third serve." he calculated.

"So, it means from now on, the following scud serves will slow up." Kaidoh murmured. "Duh! What else will it be, Viper!" teased Momo. Kaidoh looked at him with piercing eyes.

"Shut up! I am not talking to you!" answered Kaidoh.

"Hoi, stop it already. Choutaro is about to serve now." Fuji told them.

They stopped fighting and then gave their attention to the match.

"I can't disappoint him. I can't." he said. He focused and started to toss the ball. "_Ikyuunyuukon!_" he yelled. He hit the ball with his might. The ball went so fast. Choutaro was a bit confident this time. _"Can you return that to me huh?!"_ he thought_._

"Eiji!" Oishi called. "Okay!" Eiji answered. He ran sideward and summersaulted once again. But before he summersaulted, the ball rapidly passed through the pair and earned a point. It was too late.

"Very fast!" Fuji said. "Aaah!" the shocked Eiji said. "The ball, is very fast!" Oishi murmured. Eveyone was surprised, even Tezuka and Atobe, and Ryoko too.

"I guess.....I miscalculated him." Inui said. "No Inui, it's just....unpredictable." Kamio said.

"This is unbelievable." Oshitari said.

"He improved so much." Jiro said.

"Aaah! Jiro you're awake!" Gakuto yelled.

"It's a miracle!" Wakashi murmured.

"Shut up," Jiro answered.

"But how could it be?" Ibu asked himself as he looked at them curiously.

Atobe heard what Ibu had said and he smiled and answered, "We practiced a lot and it seemed like our intense training has resulted great improvements, right Kabaji?"

"Yes." Kabaji answered.

Fuji looked at him and grinned. "So, we should be prepared, Tezuka." Fuji said.

"Yes." Tezuka answered.

"Game Shishido-Choutaro pair, 1 game to Love! Change court!" the umpire announced.

Ryoko sighed. "They lost a game," She murmured.

Eiji went towards Oish and said, "Sorry, I did not returned it. I guess I'm not swift enough." Eiji was a bit disappointed. Oishi smiled and patted Eiji. "It is not your fault, it's just that the ball was too fast. We can return it." He said. Eiji lift his head upon hearing Oishi's words and then, he started to smile.

"Right!" Eiji said.

"Choutaro! That was a great blast of might. Where did you learned that?" Shishido asked. Choutaro smiled. "I learned that from you." he answered. "From me?" Shishido asked. "Yes, from you senpai. From your motivation. Thanks."

Shishido smiled. They went together on the other side of the court.

"Okay! It's their turn to serve now!" said Momo excitedly. "I hope it's their advantage." Tachibana said.

"Oishi to serve!" the umpire announced.

"Alright! It's Oishi senpai's turn to serve!" Momo cheered in excitement. "I hope this will be Seigaku's advantage." Tachibana said.

"Of course! No more scud serves for a while." Kyousuke said.

"Is it?" Ryoko thought.

Oishi held the ball tightly. Slowly, he began to lift his left arm and tossed the ball. He then tightened his grip on his racket and started to hit the ball hardly. Surprisingly, the ball passed through Shishido and Choutaro swiftly, without letting them posed or moved a bit to return it. It made them gape in surprise.

"It was fast." Shishido complained. "In just a blink of an eye...it's done." Choutaro said.

Oishi and Eiji smiled. "Good job, Oishi!" Eiji cheered. "Thank you." Oishi replied.

"Great job, Oishi." Tezuka said. "It looks faster than Choutaro's scud serve." Ibu said. "Maybe you're right." Inui said.

Ibu looked at Inui. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"No one has ever returned that serve." Inui said.

"E!"

"Even Tezuka? Or Fuji?" asked Oshitari.

"Nope, excluding Tezuka and Fuji."

"Oh." said Kamio.

"Mada mada dane." Ryoko murmured from a distance.

_"So that's what you've learned. What a weakling!"_ Atobe thought. "You're doing great Oishi senpai!" cheered Kawamura.

Oishi posed to serve. He held the ball tightly as well as his racket. As he tossed the ball upward, he thought, "This serve is..." He began to stare at Ryoko. "...for you!" he added as he hit the ball with great force. Once again, the ball passed through his foes swiftly and left them staring.

The crowd began to cheer. Another point goes to Seigaku. As the crowd cheers, Ann kept quiet. She stared at Ryoko angrily. No one except Ann noticed Oishi staring at Ryoko before he hit the ball. She thought Ryoko was Oishi energy source. She got angry at her, angry and jealous. As she stared at her, she saw Momo walking towards Ryoko.

"That serve is great isn't it?" Momo asked Ryoko. "Right." Ryoko answered. Momo kept on talking to her. Ann got mad and jealous even more.

_"Why is she talking to Momo?"_ she thought. "I can't stand just watching them." she added.

She walked towards them. "Yo!" she greeted. Both of them looked at her. "Ann-chan, hello." Momo greeted. "T-the match is really interesting." She said.

"Yeah, this match is just...unpredictable." Momo answered. "Isn't it, Ryoko?" she asked. "Yeah." Ryoko answered.

Silence followed. Momo opened his mouth to tell something to Ryoko, but Ann interfered to prevent them to talk to each other. "Who do you like to win Momo?" Ann asked.

"Of course my teammates! 'bout you Ryoko?" Momo said.

"Oishi-Kikumaru pair." she answered. Ann looked at her angrily, _"I did not asked you, Ryoko."_ she thought.

"What did you say, Ann?" Momo asked. "N-nothing! Nothing at all! Heh-heh!" She replied with a fake smile. Momo began to talk to Ryoko, "Wh---" but again, it was interfered by Ann. "I-I'm thirsty, can you please go with me to the vending machine, Ryoko?" Ann asked. "But," Ryoko doubted. "Please?" Ann convinced her. Ryoko just sighed and said, "Okay."

Ann smiled and grabbed the left arm of Ryoko. She was so excited to separate Momo and Ryoko. As she drag Ryoko, Momo stopped them for a while. _"Oh, what is it, Momo!"_ The irritated Ann thought.

"I can go with you, girls." Momo suggested. Ann widen her eyes and answered immediately, "NO!" she raised her voice. Ryoko and Momo were speechless. They began to notice Ann's irritated face. Ann smiled quickly. "I-I mean, no thanks. That would be very nice of you but no thanks." she explained but it was just a fraud. "Okay." Momo answered. Ann and Ryoko walked to the vending machine.

"Where's the vending machine?" Ryoko asked. "It's upstairs." Ann answered. So, they went upstairs. Meanwhile,

"Alright! We won a point again!" Kaidoh cheered.

"Damn it! They won another point!" Shishido complained. "Oishi's serve still has its great speed." Choutaro added.

"Great job, Oishi." Fuji said. "One more and will win a round!" said Kawamura.

"Keep it up, Oishi senpai!" Momo cheered. Atobe stared at Shishido and Choutaro as he sips his orange juice through a straw. He held his glass of juice tightly and said, _"Come on, show them what you've got!"_ he thought.

As Oishi serves the ball, Tezuka turned back and walked away from the courtside. "Where are you going, Tezuka?" Fuji asked.

Tezuka looked at his way and said, "Somewhere," he answered.

He continued to walk away and went straight upstairs (_there were 2 staircases, on the west and the other on the east. Ann and Ryoko used the_ _western staircase while Tezuka used the eastern staircase_) to wash his hands.

Upstairs:

"It's your turn, Ryoko-chan. You want to buy right?" Ann said as she walked away from the vending machine. "What do you want to buy?" she asked. "Hmph.." Ryoko murmured as she looks at the drinks available. As Ryoko thought of what to buy, Ann opened her drink. She secretly poured some of her beverage to the ground near the staircase. (_The vending machine was just near the staircase_) She stared at Ryoko angrily and lied, "Um, Ryoko, I need to go. My brother is finding me right now. He texted me recently." She picked her phone and looked at it as if her brother really texted her.

Ryoko was not yet finish deciding on which to buy, so she said, "Go ahead of me, Ann." Ann smiled and went ahead.

At last, Ryoko decided to buy Ponta. She inserted her money and pressed the button below Ponta. After a while, she got her Ponta.

Ann went downstairs and went near Momo drinking her beverage on the courtside. Momo noticed her and noticed that Ryoko is not with her.

"Where's Ryoko?" Momo asked her. He looked at her seriously. Ann began to be nervous. She tried to think on what to reason Momo. As she thinks, her eyes were wondering around. And her fingers were moving, fiddling. She thought of a reason. "S-she said she will wash her hands so I should go ahead of her." she reasoned out.

"Okay." Momo answered. Ann smiled and looked down and thought, _"Sorry, Ryoko, but I have to do this to you."_

After washing his hands, Tezuka went on the hallway going to the western staircase.

Ryoko opened her Ponta. She walked slowly to go downstairs. But as she opened it, she did not noticed the wet and slippery area that Ann made. She stepped on the area and slipped. She lost her grip on the Ponta. She lost her balance so it means she's gonna fall downstairs. She was completely out of balance that she could not do anything. She started panicking. She was about to fall when suddenly, an arm moved around her belly. The arm held her belly tightly to stop her from falling. The arm pulled her. As the person pulled her, her head bumped a bit into the chest of her savior. Her savior put her down the ground. Her savior let his arm off Ryoko. Ryoko was relieved. She was very grateful to that person. She turned back to see that person. There she saw Tezuka. She was surprised to see him. She bowed down to show her respect and her gratefulness to him.

"T-Thank you, Captain." she said still nervous. Tezuka looked at her seriously and said, "Watch where you're going the next time." He immediately went downstairs leaving Ryoko. Ryoko then went down. Tezuka went straight to the courtside. He watched the match. Ryoko's heart was still pounding hard because of the accident. She was still afraid and shocked because of it. She started to walk downstairs. She held the handrail tightly until she reaches the base. She went slowly to the courtside. Fuji noticed her and smiled at her. Tezuka, on the other hand, just stared at her and immediately refrained from looking at her. Ann noticed her and was shocked to see her without any injury. She got really angry and her heart beats faster. She looked down with her eyes wide opened. She clenched her fists in anger.

_"How....How did she overcame my trap? Damn her! I promise that the next time, you won't be able to destroy my plans!"_ she thought angrily.

Momo noticed Ryoko and Ann's angry face. He looked at Ann and patted her. "Is something wrong?" He asked.

Ann looked at him nervously. She tried to look away but she saw Ryoko approaching. Ann looked back and slapped Momo's hand away from her shoulder and quickly ran away. Ryoko went towards Momo. "What happened to her?" She asked.

Momo shrugged his shoulders and said, "I dunno. She's weird. It seems like she's scared or hiding something from us."

Ryoko just stared at Ann as she runs away. She looked back to the match. "How's the match?" she willingly asked. "They're tie. The score is 2-2." Momo answered as he blushed. "Oh," Ryoko murmured.

"Gasp, gasp!" Ann breathed heavily as she runs out of the place. She stopped on the streetside. She leaned her hands on her knees and panted. She was so nervous of being caught. Her heart beat started to stabilize. She stood up properly. She touched her chest to feel her heartbeat.

"Damn it! I was almost caught. Damn her! Gasp, I will never lose to you! You'll see, you'll see!" she warned. She ran farther away from the place. Her brother called her on her phone and she reasoned out. She completely left the place.

The rally between The Golden pair and Choutaro-Shishido pair is still burning hot. Each pair doesn't give a chance to get a point. It was getting dark but still the match hasn't finished yet. But it was about to end. The score was 5-6 with Seigaku on the lead.

"40 love!" the umpire announced.

"Okay! Just one more serve, Choutaro and we'll be tied with Seigaku!" Shishido said as he ruffles Choutaro's hair. Choutaro smiled at Shishido. He held his racket tightly and said, "Right! Shishido senpai."

"Come on, Oishi senpai and Eiji senpai!" yelled Momo.

"You can do it!" Kawamura cheered.

The crowd began to cheer for the golden pair. Their cheers motivated the golden pair.

"Eiji," Oishi said. "I know, Oishi." Eiji answered without letting Oishi finish what he wanna say. "We can do this Oishi." he added.

Oishi let a small smile escape on his face. Then, they both posed on the court. Everybody except Hyoutei people began to worry. It is visible to their faces. Ryoko's face was expressionless but deep inside she was worried. Choutaro tossed the ball and did the same thing in serving the scud serve. The ball passed through the net. Choutaro was confident that they couldn't return it so as Shishido.

"Eiji!" Oishi yelled suddenly. This caught Everyone's awareness. "Hai!" Eiji answered Oishi. He ran swiftly to reach the ball but this time, he was faster.

"What the--- Is he trying to return it?" Shishido said. Eiji got the ball on his racket and tried to push it away. It was stong but not too strong. The ball spun infront of his racket. He pushed it hard and at last, he returned. The ball passed through Choutaro and Shishido and landed on the ground. Fortunately, it went in. Silence landed and followed by the cheers and noise of the crowd. Choutaro widen his eyes in great surprise. He cannot believe his serve was defeated. And Shishido, he cannot believe it either. Atobe too was surprised.

"40-15" the umpire announced.

"Alright!!!" Eiji yelled in joy. "You did it Eiji!" Oishi said. "No, WE did it!" Eiji said. They smiled to each other.

Shishido went closer to the golden pair.

"It's not yet time to celebrate!" Shishido told them with fierce look.

Choutaro posed to serve. He was disappointed, too disappointed to focus on his service play. He served but the ball bumped on the net and was not able to go through it.

"Fault!" the umpire announced.

Shishido widen his eyes. "Choutaro," he called.

Choutaro stand right immediately and said, "Ah, sorry!"

He posed again and tossed the ball, _"Ikyuunyuukon_!" he said.

But once again it bumped the net.

"Double fault! 40-30!" the umpire announced.

Choutaro widen his eyes and was more disappointed. He got mad and began to panic. He posed once again to serve. He did the same thing. He put too much force on the ball that made it went out.

"Choutaro!" Shishido called angrily. "Gomen," Said Choutaro.

"What's happening to him?" Oishi wondered. "Saaa, but it's our advantage." Eiji said.

"Eiji!" Oishi called. "Sorry." Eiji said.

Choutaro posed to serve but still, it went out. He wasn't still in his normal state.

"40 all!" the umpire informed.

"Choutaro," Oshitari called. "Choutaro," Jiro called. _"Choutaro, you fool!"_ Atobe thought.

"CHOUTARO! What the hell are you doing! Focus!" Shishido said.

Shishido's words woke him up. He looked at Shishido. Shishido too looked at him seriously.

"Shishido senpai," he called.

"It is not the end of the world, Choutaro! And so what if they did return you're scud serve? You should be thankful to them for returning you scud serve so that you can improve what you need to improve..... Come on, Choutaro. Focus,... please focus." he motivated him.

"Shishido senpai," he called. He slowly realized what Shishido want him to realize. His started to gain his spirit again. His senpai's words was locked in his mind. This time, he was determined. He posed to serve and tossed the ball upward. He gripped his racket tightly as he says, _"Ikyuunyuukon!"_

He hit the ball. The ball swiftly passed through the golden pair without giving them the chance to return it. It landed on the ground and went in. The golden pair widen their eyes and so as their supporters, including Ryoko herself.

"Deuce!" the umpire announced.

Hyoutei members smiled and cheered for Shishido and Choutaro. Shishido smiled too. He ran towards his doubles partner and patted him on the back.

"Good job, Choutaro!" he said. Choutaro smiled at him. "I did it, Shishido senpai!" he cheered.

"Th-that was fast." Oishi said, still surprised. Eiji kept silent but he was surprised too.

Choutaro posed again to serve. He hit the ball with his might. The ball passed through the golden pair and went in.

"Advantage Shishido-Choutaro pair!" The umpire announced.

"Alright!" cheered Oshitari's doubles partner. (_Sorry, I don't know the name of Oshitari's doubles partner_.) "This game is ours!" Oshitari said.

"Damn it! They won another point." Eiji murmured. "_Where did he get his energy from?_" Oishi wondered.

Seigaku just stayed silent. They just watched the match. Choutaro prepared to serve. He tossed the ball upward and said his beloved phrase.

"_Ikyuunyuukon!_" The ball went through the net. "Eiji!" Oishi called. "Hai!" Eiji answered. He dashed to reach the ball. He stretched his right arm to reach the ball but it was too far.

"Damn it! He could not reach it!" Kaidoh said. "Eiji," Oishi called.

"I can't...reach it!" Eiji doubted. He almost gave up but suddenly,

"Eiji senpai!" He heard a sweet voice calling him. He knew that it was Ryoko's voice.

Everybody, as in everybody looked at Ryoko. All was surprised hearing her call.

Eiji was surprised, and glad. "_Ryoko-chan is....calling me._" he thought. This made Eiji gain hope and strength. He reached and reached the ball and was successfully caught the ball.

"What?!" Choutaro wondered in his great surprise so as his partner.

The ball spun on Eiji's racket. It was so strong but he managed to push it away and returned it. It passed his foes and went in.

"Deuce!" the umpire announced.

Cheers rained on the golden pair. Oishi was happy for they won a point but obviously jealous at Eiji. He frowned while the others are happy. Choutaro began to serve but this time, it was not so fast and was a bit weak. Eiji ran towards the ball. Oishi too, quickly rushed to the ball to return it eventhough it was Eiji's task to do so. He managed to return it.

"Oishi! It was suppose to be my ball." Eiji complained. Oishi looked at him angrily. Eiji was surprised to see him like that. So he did not complain anymore.

"Advantage! Oishi-Kikumaru pair!" the umpire announced.

"Alright! Just one more point and we'll win!" Momo cheered.  
"I hope they will return the next serve." Fuji said.

Ryoko let a small smile escape on her face. She was happy for the golden pair. "Mada mada dane." she said.

"Choutaro," Shishido called. "_Hai_, I know." he answered. He posed once again to serve. He held the ball tighly as he thought,

_"I should be more focused on this one, or else, or else," _

_*flashback*_

_"You can do it Choutaro, perfect your scud serve. Your not that weak right? Put your soul into it!" Shishido said. Choutaro was so tired because of hours of practicing his scud serve. "H-hai!" Choutaro answered as he panted. He tossed the ball, "Ikyuunyuu....kon!" he hit the ball with much force. The ball went so fast and amazingly went through the hole. Shishido was surprised and started to grin slowly. Choutaro widen his eyes and cannot believe that he made the ball in his jurisdiction..... "Choutaro! You made it!" Shishido screamed in joy as he ran towards him. "You made it!" Shishido put his arm around Choutaro's neck and started to ruffle his hair. They laughed. "I made it, Shishido senpai!" Choutaro said. "Yeah, you made it." Shishido answered._

_*end of flashback*_

he remembered. He tossed the ball, _"Ikyuunyuu....kon!"_ he yelled as he hit the ball. "_Or else, Shishido senpai will be disappointed_." he thought.

_"You can do it Choutaro, I know you can do it."_ Shishido thought. The ball passed the net swiftly. "There it goes!" Oishi said. He had nothing to do so "Eiji!" he called.

"I know!" Eiji rushed sideward and summersaulted again. He tried to reach the ball. Choutaro watched Eiji. He widen his eyes and Shishido's as Eiji successfully reached the ball. Then, silence followed. Eiji give his best to return the ball. The ball still spun on his racket. "Eiji!" Oishi called.

"Eiji senpai!" Kaidoh said. "Eiji!" Fuji called. "Eiji." Tezuka and Kawamura called.

The ball is still spinning on Eiji's racket. He gave more force. But still it is spinning on his racket.

_"Come on, let me return this ball!"_ he thought. The ball's force got stronger than Eiji's. His racket inched backward.

"Eiji!" Oishi called. _"I can't...." _he doubted. He tried to fight but the ball's force is greater. He almost gave up but he coincidentally saw Ryoko looking at him. "_Ryoko_," he called. He looked at her carefully.

"She...believes in me." he analyzed Ryoko's expression. He looked back on the match. "_I can't...._." he thought. He closed his eyes and put his full force on it. "_.....disappoint her_." he added. He pushed and pushed the ball away. He gave his all to return it. "AAAAHHH!" He yelled as he pushed the ball away. He then successfully pushed it away. The ball passed swiftly through their foes leaving their jaws dropping. It landed on the ground and fortunately, it went in.

"Game set match, Oishi-Kikumaru pair! 5-7!" the umpire announced.

"ALRIGHT!" Momo yelled. Cheers followed.  
"We did it Eiji!" Oishi ran towards Eiji. He patted Eiji and smiled at him.

Eiji smiled too but it seemed it was forced. "_What do you mean WE DID IT? I only did it myself._" He thought. Aww, Eiji is so evil.

"Our golden pair is undefeated!" Momo said. "Of course they are, fool!" Kaidoh answered, trying to pick a fight against Momo.  
"What did you say, Viper?" Momo asked angrily. "Are you really deaf?!" Kaidoh said.

"Stop it already, Momo, Kaidoh." Fuji said. "We should be happy for our teammates, not fighting them." Kawamura added.

As they continue their conversation....

"RYOKO-CHAN !" yelled Eiji. He immediately hugged Ryoko. This caught everybody, as in everybody's attention. Eiji blushed as he hugs Ryoko. He hugged her tightly.

"Stop it, Eiji-senpai. I-I can't breathe!" Ryoko complained. Ryoko of course doesn't think maliciously if boys hug her because she still thinks she's a boy. Everybody got angry and angrier at Eiji (including Tezuka and Atobe).

"EIJI!" they all yelled except for Tezuka and Atobe.

Tezuka stepped forward to scold Eiji but he stopped and decided not to do it. His heart beats faster. "Why am I angry to see Eiji hug her?" he wondered. "Forget it! Why am I thinking such silly stuff." he thought. He looked back and get himself out of trouble.

"E-I-J-I!!" everybody burst in anger and pulled Eiji away from Ryoko except for Atobe who just angry but did not pull Eiji away. Eiji wouldn't let go. "Let me go!" Ryoko said.  
"EIJI!" they pulled Eiji harder. Eiji got off from her. Then he was confronted by his fellow suiters of Ryoko.

It was dark when the first match ended. So, the team captains decided,

"Let's continue this match some other day." Atobe suggested.

"Okay." Tezuka agreed. "Let us now go home. We'll continue our match on other times." Tezuka announced.

"Hai!" they all agreed. "Okay! I'll take Ryoko home!" Eiji volunteered.

They looked at Eiji with fierce look. "O-okay, I-I guess I need to.....go home now." Eiji said. He ran immediately out of the scene.

"Ryoko, we will take you home." Kawamura suggested. Ryoko sighed and refused Kawamura's offer. "I can go home myself." she added.

"Are you sure you're alright with that?" Fuji asked. "I'm not a kid, Fuji senpai." she answered.

"YOU ARE!" they told her in unison. Ryoko pouted and defended herself, "I am not." she said.

"Okay, but take care." Momo said. "I know!" She answered.

She walked slowly.

"Beware of pervert people who takes advantages and chances to you." Atobe warned and then smirked.

Ryoko stopped without looking back and said, "_You're talking about yourself, Atobe_." she murmured. She continued to walk home. The others went separate ways and went home. They were all tired and exhausted.

**~~~In Ryoko's House~~~**

"I'm back!" she said as she closes their main door. "Old woman?" she called as she walks forward.

"OLD WOMAN? I told you, young girl, call me MOM!" a loud voice struck Ryoko's ears. "Okay fine,.... MOM!" she said. She looked everywhere to find Suzuki. "Where are you?" Ryoko asked. She suddenly felt a caress on her back. She looked at her back and saw Suzuki. Suzuki hugged Ryoko suddenly. "How was it?" she asked Ryoko. "Let me go!" Ryoko said. Suzuki let her go and ased the same question.

"Seigau won the first match." she answered. "Not that one, I'm asking about your bonding with the boys..." Suzuki corrected her.

"It's fine." Ryoko answered. "Tell me the whole thing happened." Suzuki requested.

"I told you Seigaku won the first match." Ryoko said. Suzuki pouted. "Tell me about Atobe, who intended to kiss you, Tezuka, who saved you, and Eiji who hugged you tightly." she asked.

Ryoko widen her eyes. "H-how did you know that?" she asked. Suzuki just smiled and naughtily asked and asked Ryoko without answering Ryoko's question.

**~~~In Tezuka's House~~~**

Tezuka sat down on his bed thinking deeply about something. He thought about the match, and others that he thinks is silly. He took his eyeglasses off his eyes. He lay down on his bed. He laid his head on his arms still thinking of that silly thing.

"Why am I still thinking of her?" he began to wonder. He wondered why Ryoko's face is stuck up in his mind. Why can't he remove her from his mind? He wondered why did he get angry at Eiji seeing him hugging Ryoko. He still doesn't know the answers to his questions. He began to lift his left hand in front of his face. He stared at it closely. He remembered the incident happened earlier, saving Ryoko from falling by lifting her.

"Why can't I forget the softness of her body?" he asked himself.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**I'm so sorry for keeping you wait so long for this chapter. I know there are scenes here that are quite confusing so I'm sorry. I'm not good in grammar and vocabulary. I'm really out of ideas right now for my next chapter so I would really need your suggestions. Please give me your suggestions for the topic of my next chapter. Please review after you read. Questions? Suggestions? Comments? Feel free to tell me....**

**Thank you! **


	11. Secret Investigator

**Chapter 11 – Secret Investigator**

"Aah! Good morning Ryoko-chan!" Tomo greeted as Ryoko closes the door of their classroom.  
"Good morning, Ryoko-chan." Her fellow classmates greeted her as well.

But as usual, she just ignored them. Her classmates stared at her as she walks straight to her desk and sat down. Tomo and Sakuno went closer to her seating on the available seats near Ryoko's place. It seems like they want to chat with her.

"Ryoko-chan," Tomo started the chat with a curious face. Ryoko looked at her and said, "What?"  
Tomo asked her, "Were you there at the Seigaku and Hyoutei's practice match?" and then looked at Ryoko seriously. Ryoko picked her books up and put it on her desk ignoring Tomo. She arranged her things properly. And Tomo, who was hoping to get her answer, got pissed off.

"Hoi, I'm asking you Ryoko!" she said. Ryoko kept on doing other things but soon, she answered, "Yeah." Tomo was surprised to what Ryoko said. "E!" she reacted.  
"Why, is it that surprising?" Ryoko asked frankly. "No, I mean, kind of." she answered. Ryoko sighed and continued what she was doing. Then silence followed. Sakuno, who was hoping she could make friends with Ryoko, thought on what to say next.

"Um, you're fortunate, Ryoko-chan, to see such a great match." Sakuno continued the chat. She smiled at Ryoko naively. Ryoko looked at her and said, "That wasn't so great after all." Sakuno and Tomo was surprised of what they just heard. "R-really? T-that was a bit...harsh...I think....Heh heh heh.." Sakuno tried to smile and thought she shouldn't have brought that topic out. Tomo got pissed off again. Tomo breathed in and out. "Not great...huh?" she murmured to herself clenching her fists in and out. Sakuno held Tomo's arm and tried to calm her down.

"Ryoko-chan...are you CRAZY?!" Tomo stood up and scolded Ryoko. Sakuno held one of Tomo arms and whispered to her , "Calm down, Tomo-chan, Calm down. She still doesn't know much about our school's tennis club regulars. She's just new here. Please be patient to her." Tomo then tried to calm herself down. She stopped talking to Ryoko for a while to bring her temper down.

"If I am CRAZY then I should be undergoing rehabilitation now instead of going to school." Ryoko provoked Tomo again, bringing Tomo's hot temper back.. Tomo got angry again and reacted, "What?!"

"Tomo," Sakuno called. Tomo breathed hardly looking at Ryoko angrily. "_She's really getting into my nerves! And I hate her philosophy. But, calm down Tomo, calm down._" she thought. Tomo calmed herself and sat down. She started changing her bad mood to a pleasant face. Tomo breathed in air and then let go of it. Sakuno looked at Tomo and then at Ryoko. She breathed in hardly. "How did you know about the match, Ryoko-chan?" Sakuno asked. Ryoko placed both of her hands at the back of her head and leaned her head against it(?). She obviously tired of answering it. "Kikumaru-senpai invited me to do so." she answered.

Sakuno smiled and told Ryoko, "You're so lucky. I wish I was there too." Ryoko did not reacted and stayed quiet. Sakuno looked at Ryoko hoping that she won't ignore her anymore. She waited for her to talk first but no words came out from Ryoko's mouth. Sakuno frowned but still hasn't losing hope in making friends with her. She thought once again of what to talk acout next. "T-The club did not informed us that why we did not know they were having a practice match. But...it's worth watching right?" Sakuno sure is trying hard to have a good chat with Ryoko but...."Ryuzaki..."at last Ryoko spoke first to Sakuno. Sakuno was happy that Ryoko finally spoke up first. "What is it, Ryoko-chan?" she gladly asked. Ryoko looked at her and paused for a while, and then continued, "You talk too much..." Ryoko harshly told her. Sakuno was of course shocked and was really offended. She just shut her mouth up and kept quiet. Sakuno almost cried that time.

"_She's truly harsh and....frank_." Tomo thought. "_Sakuno was really trying hard to make friends with her...but it seems Ryoko doesn't want to...Then, I'll try to make friends with her..for Sakuno..._" she decided.

"Ryoko, Could you please tell us all the details during the match?" Tomo asked. She gave off a big smile to Ryoko. Ryoko paused for a while. She sighed and answered "....I refuse." Tomo was dismayed but did not gave in. Once again, she asked, "Please tell us," "I refuse," Ryoko repeated. Tomo kept on asking her the same thing but still, Ryoko's answers were all constant.

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"So, her friends are Tomo, and um, Sakuno..." a mysterious voice said. "...okay...my data's almost complete." A girl wearing tanned leather coat with a red-striped scarf, brown pants, tanned hat, black boots, and black sunglasses peeked on something or someone inside Ryoko's classroom gathering data from the outside of it through an open window on the left side of Ryoko.

"...She sure has attitude problems..." she murmured while she writes down on her notebook the data she has gathered and what she recently said. She continued to peek and gather data on Ryoko.

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"Why won't you tell us!" Tomo cried. "Tell us...tell us...tell us..." she added. "I don't want to...I don't want to...I don't want to.." Ryoko answered. Tomo kept on convincing her but Ryoko still doesn't want to.

"Stop it please, Tomo-chan." The abashed Sakuno told her dear friend. Tomo just continued to do what she was doing earlier. Sakuno had nothing to do but be ashamed for her friend. Ryoko sighed and said, "Mada mada...dane." She ignored the girls and picked her notebooks from her bag which was on her left side. By a chance Ryoko saw the mysterious person staring at her through an open window.

"Uh!" Ryoko reacted. The mysterious girl saw Ryoko looking at her and was really nervous and worried that Ryoko might identify who she was.

"What's the matter Ryoko?" Sakuno asked. Ryoko looked at her saying, "There's a person..." She pointed at the window. "What is it?" Tomo asked. She looked back to the window and saw nothing. She was confused. "What's with the window?" Tomo asked. Ryoko stopped pointing. "Nothing." she said.

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**What really happened:**

When Ryoko looked at Sakuno which made her look away or unaware about the mysterious girl, the girl took advantage of Ryoko's unawareness. She yanked down and ran away.

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After a while their history teacher came in and asked them to get back on their on their proper seats. Sakuno and Tomo went back to their proper seats. Then their history teacher started her lesson. After all their teacher taught, she asked her class to get their history books. The students got their books except for Ryoko. Well, she wasn't paying attention after all. It was all because of the mysterious person. It seems to be bothering Ryoko.

Her teacher noticed that Ryoko did not get her book. Her teacher instructed the class once again to get their books, history books to be specific, to cover up Ryoko's unawareness (cool teacher huh!). But it did not work. Ryoko is still not paying attention. Their teacher had nothing to do but to call her favorite student. She went towards Ryoko, her favorite student. "Ryoko-chan," she called. It did not work at first. Her classmates looked at them.

"Ryoko-chan," her teacher called for the second time. "....uh!" at last Ryoko's attention was caught. She looked at her teacher. "P-pay attention please." her teacher scolded her but deep inside, she doesn't want to scold her favorite student. Ryoko frowned a bit which made her even cuter. Her classmates blushed while staring at her. "S-sorry, sensei." she said.

"KAWAII!" cried her classmates.

Her teacher (her teacher is a girl) blushed. She was worried of course and ashamed because she doesn't want to see her frowning or sad. She forced herself to smile. "Ahahahaha! No need to worry, Ryoko my dear! Ahahaha! It's nothing you know. I should be the one apologizing to you. Ahahaha! You can do whatever you want you know!" she reasoned out inorder to cheer Ryoko up and refrain from frowning. "Ahahaha!" the teacher laughed as she slowly walking backwards back to where a teacher should be placed.

"Weird," Ryoko murmured. The class soon continued.

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"(breathing hard)!" the mysterious girl refrained from running and then panted. "Pant! Pant! Pant! Damn it! I was almost caught!" she murmured. She stood up properly and looked at her environment. "...ugh!" she reacted. It was the time when she noticed that the tennis courts were just in front of her. There she saw the tennis club with the regulars of course. "_Seigaku....tennis club_," she wondered. After a moment, she widened her eyes. "They might notice me!" realizing this thought, she hid behind the nearest bush near the courts (let's assume there are bushes around the courts) with great haste. She peeked on the regulars. "I should sneak out before their eyes." she murmured. She was about to sneak out when she overheard the regulars talking about Ryoko which made the girl interested to continue eavesdropping.

"_They're talking about Ryoko, this might help me collect more data about her_." she thought. She prepared her data notebook and her pen and started listening.

"Aah, I want to see Ryoko today," Momo, who was running laps together with his fellow regulars and some non-regulars, announced. "You bet," Eiji agreed. "Me too," the other regulars except Tezuka agreed. "Seeing her just for a while or longer completes my day," Fuji added. "Really? Me either!" Kawamura said. They all sighed and kept silent for a while.

The girl was surprised of course. She didn't expect the regulars such words. "_Are they obsessed with that damn girl?_" she murmured angrily. "_What did she let them eat to make them that obsessed with her?_" she added. She continued listening and writing down details.

"Everybody," Momo broke the silence. The regulars except Tezuka looked at Momo curiously. "What is it Momo?" Oishi asked. Momo smiled. It seems that he thought of a good idea. "Let's visit Ryoko this lunch time." he announced. Everybody (except Tezuka as always) grinned slowly.

"That's not a bad idea." Fuji said. "Momoshiro thought of a good idea for the first time, fushuu!" Kaidoh added. "Okay!" Oishi announced. All agreed (except Tezuka again) and decided to do so.

"Damn it. They are really falling for her, but....Tezuka isn't." she murmured. She wrote down all her gathered data. "I really hate that girl!" she added. She continued to write down some details. After a while..."I guess these are enough." she said. She sneaked out of the picture and went home straight to her room.

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She took her disguise off and opened her data notebook. She read all the details written on her notebook. After she read all that is written on it, she closed it hardly, annoyed. "Time for the first plan." she announced to herself and smiled evilly, as if she was planning something wicked that might hurt Ryoko. Who could that girl be? What is she to Ryoko? What is she planning? Find out on the following chapters....

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**I guessed this was a bit rushed and I'm sorry. I'm not good in writing stories and even my siblings thought of it as a rushed story...but it's okay! I'll try to improve my writing. But I hope you all understand the thought of this chapter and the story as well. Thank you!**

**Next Chapter: The New Transferee**


	12. The New Transferee

**Chapter 12 - The New Transferee**

The next day,

"Good morning, Ryoko-chan" Tomo greeted Ryoko as well as her fellow classmates. Ryoko ignored them again and went straight to her place. She moved her chair backward and then sat on it. Tomo neared Ryoko and opened a conversation.

"Ryoko-chan," she called. Ryoko sighed and was obviously not interested of what her big mouthed classmate will say. "I don't have time to talk to you now," she told Tomo frankly, trying to end their recently opened conversation immediately. Tomo silenced herself for a while and then she curved her eyebrows. She answered Ryoko frankly as well, "W-what's with that attitude. How could you speak like that to your friend." She stared at Ryoko closely as if she wanted her to admit her mistake. Ryoko raised one of her eyebrows. "Friend? We are friends?" she answered back. Tomo's jaw dropped and was shocked and offended of what Ryoko said. Ryoko did not mean to offend Tomo, she just wanted to clear what Tomo stated earlier, without any offense. But it seems that it was not what Tomo understood. Tomo froze and stayed where she was standing as if her feet was rooted on that place.

Ryoko waved her hand which means 'no' at Tomo. "T-that's not what I meant," she took back what she said earlier. Tomo, who was still looking down, smiled secretly appreciating Ryoko's words. She slowly lift her head up and looked at Ryoko happily. "I did not know you are gentle too," Tomo said playfully. Ryoko blushed in embarrassment and looked away to hide her blushing face. Tomo smiled widely and started to laugh.

"Mada mada....dane." she murmured, still blushing while hiding her face. Tomo stopped laughing and then smiled. "Are you not nervous for the english test, Ryoko-chan?" she asked. Ryoko cleared her throat, faced Tomo and was no longer blushing. " Nope." she answered with confidence. "heh, you're confident are you?" Tomo asked. Ryoko looked away and then replied, "Not really." Tomo smiled and then inched backward. "Then, see you after the test." she bid her goodbye to Ryoko and went to her place.

"Okay class, we'll now start our test." their teacher came in and announced. the students started preparing their pens as well as themselves. The teacher got the test papers and gave one to each students. They will start answering the questionnaires once they received them.

"Everyone got a test paper?" the teacher asked the students. "Yes!" answered the students. "Then, let's start now." the teacher announced. The students soon started answering the test.

* * *

"I wonder where's the principal's office?" a girl wearing a Seigaku uniform asked herself while wandering around the school campus. It seems that she's just new in the school. "Although I sometimes do visit this place, I still don't know much about Seigaku. So, maybe I should ask somebody here about the principal's office." she told herself, still wandering around. After minutes of wandering around, she decided to ask some Seigaku students that she could find.

She looked around and saw one. She approached the student and asked him, "Anou, hi. I just like to ask, where's the office of the principal?" she looked at him curiously. "The principal's office? You just go straight over there and then turn to the left. After that you go straight again. Look for the door with the sign 'Principal's office' and that's it." the student instructed, pointing at the directions he had said. "Get it?" he asked the girl. The girl looked at her frowning and then forced a smile, obviously confused of what the boy told her. The student stared at her and noticed the girl's confusion and then sighed. "Alright, alright I'll accompany you to the principal's office." he invited. The girl smiled and nodded. They went off headed to the principal's office.

* * *

"Okay class, pass the papers now." the teacher announced. The students passed their papers. After passing the papers, their bell rang which signals lunch break. Some of the students went out of the classroom to take their lunch somewhere while others stayed in their places including Ryoko, Sakuno, and Tomo. Sakuno and Tomo again neared Ryoko seating on the available seats near her place. Tomo opened a conversation talking about their recent test. They ate and talked for a while.

"Argh! I hate that freaky test! It's so damn hard!" Tomo said angrily.

"The test was really hard right Ryoko-chan" Sakuno asked.

"Not really," Ryoko confidently answered.

The two was surprised. They saw no worries in Ryoko's expression. They just continued to eat. After minutes of eating, Tomo felt something bad from her stomach.

"I guess I need to go to the restroom." Tomo said, closing the conversation temporarily. She stood up and then went outside the room. Sakuno and Ryoko just continued eating their lunch.

"Uh..." Tomo reacted as she runs through the hallway going to the restroom. "Why did they placed the restroom so distant from the classrooms? I can't hold it anymore," she told herself, running in a faster speed. She ran and passed the hallway and the principal's office and has finally reached the restroom. She rushed immediately into one of the cubicles inside and did what she needed to do. After few moments she went out and decided to go back to their classroom. She walked passing the principal's office.

_"Oh are you the new student here?"_ a voice coming from the principal's office said. "A new student?" Tomo told herself upon hearing this. "This is interesting. She got interested. She went near the office's door and decided to eavesdrop. She leaned her head against the wall and started listening.

* * *

_"Yes, Sorry that I came late today,"_ the new student said.

* * *

"That voice, it sounds familiar to me." Tomo told herself as she continues to eavesdrop.

* * *

"_It's okay, don't be late next time._" the principal told the student. "_Hai!_" the feminine student answered. "You're a freshman right?" the principal asked. The girl nodded. The principal stood up and neared the girl. "_Then I'll lead you to your classroom._" the principal offered, smiling. The student smiled as well.

* * *

"A freshman? Maybe she'll be our new classmate." Tomo said excitedly. She stopped listening and then ran to their classroom.

"Big news! Big news!" Tomo cried as she rushed towards Ryoko and Sakuno. They looked at Tomo. "W-what is it Tomo-chan?" Sakuno asked. Tomo smiled and informed them excitedly, "We'll have a new classmate!" Silence entranced for a while with Tomo still smiling widely at her 2 friends. "Really?" Sakuno asked her. Tomo nodded happily. Sakuno smiled and was happy about the news. Ryoko looked at the two with an expressionless face as always. "Aren't you excited Sakuno?" Tomo asked. Sakuno smiled as she nods. "This is really interesting right Ryoko-chan?" she asked her silent friend as she looks at her. Tomo paused for a while waiting for Ryoko's reply.

"Not at all." Ryoko answered in her usual way of speaking as she snubs the two. "E? You're not interested?" Tomo asked. "Yes." Ryoko answered as she wraps her lunch box and placed it in her bag. "I wonder what the new student's gender is." Sakuno said after looking at Ryoko. "She is a girl." Tomo answered without Ryoko listening. "Really? How did you know?" Sakuno asked again. Tomo paused for a while thinking. Then she started to talk. "I overheard the conversation between the principal and the student at the principal's office. Her voice is surely a feminine's voice. But," Tomo paused once again thinking of something. "What's wrong Tomo-chan?" Sakuno asked. Tomo looked down with confusion in her face. "But, her voice, it's some kind'a....familiar..." Hearing the Tomo's tone, Ryoko looked at her with curiosity. "Familiar?" Sakuno became curious. Tomo lifted her head and smiled, "We'll know her soon." She continued eating her lunch.

After a few minutes, the school bell rang once again, signalling the end of the lunch break. Students rushed to their respective classrooms. Tomo and friends proceeded to their places waiting for their next teacher.

* * *

Outside Ryoko's classroom...

"Oh good afternoon, principal and...?" Ms. Nanako Yuuri, the next teacher of Ryoko's class, wondered after seeing an unfamiliar student. "Good afternoon as well, Ms. Nanako." the principal greeted the teacher. "This girl is the new transferee I'm talking about recently." she added. "Oh, so she is my new student you're talking about." Ms. Nanako said. The principal nodded as she pushed the student gently towards Ms. Nanako.

The teacher smiled at the student. "Good afternoon, I am Ms. Nanako Yuuri, you're teacher. Welcome to Seigaku, pretty girl." She welcomed the transferee. The student smiled and bowed to show respect. The principal smiled and excused herself for she was done leading the student to her respective classroom. They both thanked the principal and faced each other.

"So, what's your name?" the teacher whose still smiling asked the transferee. The student smiled energetically and said, "My name is......"

* * *

"Ah, Ms. Nanako is five minutes late." Tomo complained. "Shut up, Tomo." Horio said. Tomo gone mad and answered Horio with a yell. They both answered back to each other's answer with a yell. Suddenly, a screeched of their classroom's door was heard. There they saw Ms. Nanako. Tomo and Horio immediately stopped their argument and sat down. The teacher walked to the front and faced the class.

"Good afternoon, class." She greeted. The students replied to the teacher. The teacher smile and began to announce, "Class, we have here your new classmate...." As Ms. Nanako announces, Tomo got really curious, thinking who could that student be.

"Please come in," the teacher instructed the new student who was waiting behind the classroom's door. The class turned their head facing the door to know who was that student. The new student slowly walked inside the room. She went straight to the front next to Ms. Nanako.

"She's...." Tomo and Sakuno was surprised while Ryoko was just staring at the girl. "Isn't that...." Horio said.

The student faced the class without any insecurity. She smiled also. "Good afternoon. I'm...." she started introducing herself to the class.

"....An..." Tomo thought. "I'm Tachibana An. Nice to meet all of you." she completely introduced herself. She respectfully bowed down to her fellow students.

The students greeted her as well. She told a bit about herself in the class and then finished her introduction.

"Thank you Ms. An and now you may sit to that seat next to Ryoko, that gorgeous girl over there." Ms. Nanako pointed An's seat.

An grinned as she slowly walked towards her seat, which was actually next to Ryoko's. But before she reached her seat, she stopped by Ryoko and fiercely looked at her in the eye. Ryoko looked at her as well and then look away calmly.

"What's with that _glare_?" Ryoko asked herself silently.

An fixed her stuff and listened to Ms. Nanako as she continued her lesson. She was indeed pretending to be listening to her teacher eventhough she was thinking about Ryoko, thinking of what she may do to refrain Ryoko from seducing all the boys, especially Momoshiro, whom An herself beginning to love. Minutes passed by and still, An's thinking of her stupid, evil plan. (My God she's so envious!)

"When I'm with her, I'm sure I can stop boys from nearing her," she thought.

She suddenly but slowly grinned, it seemed that she came up with an idea.

"...then I should..."

Ms. Nanako dismissed her class, signalling the end of her period. She walked out. The class became noisy for there was no teacher looking after them. They were having fun as they waited for their math teacher.

* * *

Tomo and Sakuno neared An.

"An-chan, why are you in this school?" Sakuno asked An gently.

An faced her with somewhat "hurt" expression. "Why, Am I not welcome here in Seigaku?"

Sakuno panicked for she did not mean to hurt An. "N-no, what I mean is..." She explained nervously, still panicking.

"What Sakuno meant is that, you are supposed to be in Fudomine Gakuen right? Why did you transfer here? I mean, did you fail academically? Or did you do an offense? Or.."

"Hey, hey. What's with all that accusations?" An slightly laughed. "I'm not that loser to fail or to have an offense," She stopped laughing and she just smiled. She glanced at Ryoko, who was sitting on her chair reading a book silently, not paying any attention to the trio. An then snubbed and looked at Sakuno and Tomo.

"Sorry for those accusations. What's the real reason then?" Tomo asked innocently.

"Please do tell us if you won't mind," Sakuno added.

"Well," An started, "I just want to try out Seigaku." She confidently answered their questions as she runs her fingers through her hair.

"You transferred..." Tomo said. "...just to try out Seigaku?" Sakuno added.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" An asked.

Sakuno and Tomo fake a smile. "Nothing, it's just that, you tranferred just because...of a shallow reason," Tomo said frankly as looked away from An.

An faked a smile. "I know, I know it's just a shallow reason. But I was in Fudomine for so many years and I've seen much of it..." She bowed down heavy-heartedly, placing her hands on her lap. "..I hope...I just hope I'm welcome here." She clenched her fists together with the cloth of her skirt.

Sakuno and Tomo once again panicked. They don't know what to do to cheer An up. They panicked and panicked. Everyone can tell that just by looking at them. An's expression may be gloomy on the outside, but she is enjoying inside for the people are deceived by her pretense. Ryoko got annoyed and decided to speak up.

"Tachibana-san," She started. The two stopped panicking and then looked at Ryoko, as well as An. "Could you stop overreacting? It's getting annoying." She said straightforwardly without looking at anybody but the book she was reading. The trio was shocked. An was really affected, hurt. She felt the Ryoko shamed her. And her envy towards Ryoko turned into anger, who knows, maybe her anger will evolve into hatred.

"Ryoko-chan, t-that was rude," Tomo said. "Please be gentle with your words." Sakuno added.

An faked a smile again and said, "N-no, Ryoko's right. I should not overreact on small things. Hehe," she gave them a big smile to make them think she is alright. Ryoko continued to read her book as if nothing happened.

Their Math teacher arrive and made an entrance to their classroom.

"Oh, our teacher's here." An announced.

Sakuno and Tomo hurriedly went back to their seats. The teacher greeted the students and the students greeted him back. He discussed and discussed until the class hours are over.

Dismissal followed and everyone bid their goodbyes to each other and went home.

* * *

_In An's house:_

An immediately went straight to her room upon reaching her house. She laid down on her bed still mad at Ryoko. Her anger can really be seen through her expression.

"Damn you Ryoko. There will be a time you will kneel unto me. I'll make sure that time will come...as soon as possible." she murmured.

An heard footsteps from the outside of her room, it seemed that the noise is starting to get louder and louder, as if these are going nearer and nearer to her room. The footsteps stopped. She heard the sound of her door's door knob twisting. The door was slowly opening.

"Brother," she said.

"An, come down now. Let's eat some snacks." Kippei Tachibana invited his sister.

An postioned herself laying sideward on her bed. "No thanks, brother." she refused his invitation.

Kippei noticed his sister's gloomy face. He was not used in seeing An that sad so he decided to ask, "Is there any thing wrong, An?" He looked at An. An was still in constant position. Still zipping her mouth.

Then silence followed.

"An, please, open up. I am your brother. You can share your problems with me. Let's solve it together. Maybe, I can help.

After seconds of silence, An lifted herself from the bed and sat down still wearing her gloomy expression.

"Brother.." She started, not looking at her brother. "What is it?" Kippei replied as he closes the door of An's room.

"You know Ryoko right?" She asked as she slowly turn to Kippei. "Of course I do. She was...she was..." now that An mentioned it, Kippei can't help but think about Ryoko. He walked towards An and sat down on An's Bed.

"The first time I saw her, I was...I was...I don't know how to say it but...i was..."

An got angry, angrier as seconds passes by, seeing her brother in seduction of her ENEMY. She could not take much anger that grabbed her brother's collar.

"You can't fall for her! You just can't!" She yelled in anger.

"An what's happening to you?!" Kippei wondered.

"I hate her, brother! I hate her so much! She...she..." She bowed her head, looking down really, really angry.

"She what An?"

"She..she stole Momoshiro from me! Yes, she stole him brother! She stole him!" An suddenly bursted into tears.

Tachibana was shocked seeing his sister crying

"A-are you sure? Do you have any proof?"

"She's seducing her brother! Yes she is! She's seducing everyone!" An insisted, as tears fall through her cheeks.

"I doubt that, An. I know she's innocent. I can fe---"

"You're defending her?!" she yelled.

"N-no I---"

"Choose one from us brother! Me or her? Choose the one you want to defend! Choose the one you'll help!"

"An....." Tachibana was shocked about his sister's strange behavior.

"Choose one! Choose one brother!" An cried harder with her hands still holding her bro's collar.

"Calm down An. W-what's wrong with Ryoko?" Kippei asked.

"EVERYTHING'S WRONG ABOUT HER!" she answered back with a shout.

"Why are you like that. You a---"

"Choose one now! I..want..you..to..choose!" An said angrily.

"An come on wha--"

"Choose...me, your sister, or that Ryoko!" she asked once again.

Kippei was silent for a while. Then he slowly opened his mouth...

"An..."

"What now!" An was still crying.

"Okay....I...I..."

* * *

**Yehey! I'm finally done with this chapter! Woohoo! Sorry it took me so long to finish this one. I was busy, so busy because of my stupid projects and school works my gosh. But today, I'm free for I'll have my 2-week Christmas vacation! Yahoo!**

**I have already decided on what my next chapter will be. And it is "Field Trip" where Ryoko's class will have a trip on the different schools to observe different tennis activities of the said schools. This will be a big opportunity for An to do her evil plans to Ryoko. But it's also a disadvantage for An because she will encounter Ryoko's lovers (namely the Fudomine, Hyoutei, Yamabuki, and Rikkaidai tennis regulars) **

**This will be fun, I guess.**

**Please leave reviews right after reading this chapter or any chapter of this story because I want to know your opinions about this story. Any reviews will be greatly appreciated.**

**Thank you! ~lovefan123~**


	13. The Field Trip Part 1

**Chapter 13 - The Field Trip Part 1**

_"Ring! Ring! Ring!"_ Ryoko's alarm clock kept on ringing for it was six o'clock in the morning. But still, Ryoko's asleep. So, the clock kept on ringing and ringing.

The ringing of the clock can be heard downstairs cause it was loud, too loud. Seconds passed by but still, the alarm wasn't shut down. Suzuki couldn't take the noise anymore. She decided to go upstairs and wake Ryoko up.

"Damn this child sure is a sleepy-head bastard." she murmured as she passes through the staircase and stopped in front of Ryoko room door. She slowly reached the room's door knob and then deliberately twisted it. She then paused for a little while. After the silence of pausing, she powerfully slammed the door open creating a loud noise and then she yelled,

"Open your eyes and go to school now, you sleepy-head!"

Ryoko was still in her peaceful sleep. Suzuki's effort was, um, useless. Suzuki raised her left eyebrow signalling her annoyance. She inched backward, then walked forward towards lovely Ryoko. She stood next to Ryoko's bed. She looked at Ryoko closely. She raised her right hand and snapped once. Milliseconds passed, a liter of water (approximately) was floating freely in the air just a foot or two above Ryoko.

Suzuki grinned and said, "Time to take a bath, sweetie," Just after she spoke those words, she positioned her hand and snapped once again. This time, the water floating in the air right just above Ryoko poured unto her not as droplets, but as a whole. Because of this, Ryoko was soaked wet, seriously. This made her wake up, angrily.

"Why did you do that, old woman?!" he asked irritably.

Suzuki smirked and replied, "That's the way I wake sleepy-heads," She ruffled Ryoko's hair and said, "Time for school now, young man,"

She took her hand back and pushed Ryoko away from her bed, with force. Ryoko was out balanced as she was pushed out of her room.

"Wha--" that was all she could say.

She had no choice but to follow Suzuki. She took a bath, ate her breakfast, and brushed her teeth.

* * *

_~In An's house~_

"Why are you so early today?", Kippei asked his younger sister, An, who was preparing her stuff and was really ready for school.

"Yeah. I have something important to do," she answered Kippei as she lifted her bag and wore it.

Kippei leaned his back against the wall of their house. "This early?", he asked with one of his eyebrows raised. "It's still 6:20 am,"

An turned, facing her brother. "Yeah," An answered with a little grin plastered on her face. She turned away and said, "Bye. I need to go before it's _**too late**_," she bid her goodbye and then she walked away.

Kippei, still in a constant position, wondered about what An has said. "_Something important?_", he thought.

* * *

"Hurry up, you slowpoke!", complained Suzuki, who was standing next to Ryoko, who was just sitting on their sofa, reading a magazine.

"It's still 6:30 am," Ryoko answered without even looking at Suzuki, as if she wasn't having a conversation with anyone. She continued reading her magazine.

"You should go to school now!", Suzuki answered back with a yell. She placed her hands in each side of her hips.

"What will I do in school this early? There's no need to hurry," Ryoko answered calmly, still not looking at Suzuki.

"It's better to be early than to be late!", Suzuki was starting to be annoyed.

Ryoko let the magazine she was reading rest on her lap with her hands still holding the sides of the magazine. She sighed and then looked at Suzuki.

"Well," she started. "It's best to come on time," she continued. She turned away and continued to read the magazine.

Suzuki was pissed off, unlike Ryoko who takes things calmly and frankly. They answered back each speech. Their argue continued.

* * *

"I guess this is it," An looked at the paper she was holding and then she lifted her head up to look at a house in front of her. It seemed that an address was written on the paper she was holding, and the house in front of her is the one specified in the address.

She examined every detail of that house, from the bottom to the top. She leaned against a wall of another house in front of the house specified in the address, as if she was waiting for something, or **_someone_**.

A minute passed, she was still in a constant position, no change of location at all. As she waited there, she noticed that a bike with the rider was approaching. As it comes nearer and nearer every second, she can see that its rider was wearing something familiar. Finally, the rider parked his bike against the house An was finding lately. There she saw,

"...Momo..senpai," she called.

The rider stopped riding his bike and then turned to An. "Aah, An-chan," he called.

Yes, he was Momoshiro. An looked at him closely. Her heart pounded, seeing Momo, her long time crush, or should I say **_love_**. She blushed, making her face turn red. She froze for split seconds. It seemed that she can't take her eyes off him.

"An-chan, what are you doing in here?" he asked as he walked forward towards An.

"Huh? I-I, I-I" she was really nervous.

"You what?" Momo asked. He stopped and leaned against the same wall An is leaning. Yes, they are beside each other. An blushed even more. She looked away.

"I-I am here to, to pick up...." she started answering.

"To pick up **_Ryoko-chan_**?" Momo added.

An was surprised, and at the same time, angry because she has a prediction that Momo came all the way to Ryoko's house to pick her up. She looked down with mixed emotions - angry, jealous, and sad.

"Yeah. I-I'm here to pick her up," she said with a low voice. "You're also here to pick her up?"

Momo was silenced. He looked away. His eyes kept wandering around. He was starting to sweat a lot.

"Um," he scratched his head for a while. It was obvious that he was there to pick Ryoko up. "So...yes?" An asked.

Momo took a deep breath and said, "Yes." without shame anymore.

An was saddened. She was teary that time. But she stopped her tears from falling down through her cheeks. She looked at Momo, but before that, she took a deep breath.

"Momo...senpai...", An said. Momo looked at An. "What is it?" he asked.

"Um, there's something you need to know," she continued.

"What is it?" Momo asked again.

"I...I felt this one from the moment I saw you," she started to confess something.

Momo was still looking at An, showing an interested expression.

"Momo...senpai..." An started. "...I...I...lo--"

A suddened screeching sound entered their ears. They turned their heads and saw a red car. The one of the doors of the car opened. A man with a brownish hair and blue eyes went out of the car. He closed the door and faced Momo and An.

"Fuji-senpai," they both called.

"Yo," Fuji waved his hand with, as always, a smile plastered on his face. He walked towards the two.

"You're here to pick her up are you?" Momo asked, with a dash of anger.

Fuji giggled and nodded, "You are indeed a mind reader."

Momo smirked and said, "I came here earlier than you so I will be the one to pick her up." It was obvious that he desperately wants himself to pick Ryoko up. So he had no choice, but to pick a fight with Fuji first.

Fuji smiled at him. He also had no choice but to defend his right to pick her up as well. He opened his mouth and started speaking.

"I won't let Ryoko's skin be damaged because of your pick up vehicle, which is a bike." he said calmly. "Her skin will be protected if she's with me, in my car for the sunlight couldn't completely pass through it. I won't let her sweat just because she is long-exposed to this hot environment with your vehicle. It will be better for her to be with me, or should I say, the **_best_**," he continued.

Momo clenched his fists, "It would be the best for Ryoko to be exposed in the environment of real things rather than to be in your own environment of **_fake_** things," he answered back, obviously losing his temper.

Fuji has been always calm and in fact he still is. They both argued leaving An aside.

"_T-they are..._" the teary-eyed An thought. "_They're fighting for...."_ An lifted her right hand and placed it on her chest, feeling the flame of envy and hatred in her heart.

After moments of argues and emotional stress, a group of people appeared. This caught the trio's attentions.

"Aah! Momo!", Kawamura called as he walks towards Ryoko's house together with his company.

"Nya! Fuji's here too!", called Eiji.

"Kawamura-senpai, Inui-senpai!", Momo called, looking at the group.

"Eiji, Kaidoh," Fuji called.

An looked at them, she was shocked. She can't even move.

"_They are here for...her.." _she thought. She clenched her fists and bit her lips, in anger. "_Damn you!_" she thought.

Yes, the Seigaku tennis regulars are here, fighting over Ryoko. Well, not all of them were there though. Tezuka was not there, he wasn't in love with Ryoko yet. But who knows, he might be in love with her later.

They were so noisy. They argued for a while. They kept on throwing rude words to each other (except Fuji). But silence descended when they heard an opening of a door. They looked at Ryoko's door, thinking it might be her opening the door.

"RYOKO?" all of them turned facing Ryoko's house, still thinking maybe it was her.

"I'll go now," Ryoko signalled Suzuki.

"I could hear Ryoko-chan's voice!", Kawamura announced. They looked at the house closely. There, they saw Ryoko. She was still so cute, gorgeous, and beautiful, especially in her Seigaku uniform. They looked at her closely.

Ryoko closed the door of their house. She walked a few steps towards their gate and open it. She was yawning that time with her eyes closed. After opening their gate, she opened her eyes, and was surprised.

"GOOD MORNING, RYOKO-CHAN!" all of the boys greeted her as she showed herself.

Ryoko looked at them for a while. Then she reacted, "Why are you guys here?" she raised one of her eyebrows.

The boys smiled and said in unison, "WE CAME HERE TO PICK YOU UP!"

After split seconds, the boys recognized that they all came all the way to Ryoko's house just for the same reason: to pick her up for school.

"Wait, wait, I came here first so I'll pick her up!" Momo said, trying to fight for the right to pick Ryoko up for school.

"Ryoko's not safe with you! You might **_dunk_** her out of your bike!" Kaidoh answered Momo. They faced each other angrily.

"Oh yeah? You think she's safe with a **_viper_** like you?! You might bite her!" Momo shamed Kaidoh.

"Hey, she's safe with neither of you two! She's safer with me! Nya!" Eiji joined the fight over Ryoko. He faced the burning duo.

Kaidoh looked at Eiji fiercely, furiously, angrily, and all the negative adjectives you can think of! "If you take Ryoko, she might get scratches you punk! Fuuushhuu!", he said.

Eiji stood up straight, showing not a trace of fear in front of his beloved. Their argue continued.

Ryoko sighed and tapped her forehead, "Damn, they're so noisy," She turned her head to look away from the retards fighting. After she turned, she saw An, looking miserably at the retards fighting.

"T-Tachibana...san," she called, still gazing at her.

An did not notice Ryoko's call. She maintained her miserable expression and remained looking at those retards as well.

"Tachibana-san," Ryoko called once again. This time, An heard her call. She quickly turned to face Ryoko, who was about 2 and a half meters from her, as if she was surprised.

"Huh...?! Oh, s-sorry. What is it, Ryoko-chan?", she immediately change her elucidation from miserable, to gay. She smiled at Ryoko.

"What are you doing in here?", Ryoko asked.

"Uh," An started. She closed her eyes and then took a deep breath. She caressed her hair and stated, "I'm here to pick you up," she said those words calmly as she runs her fingers through her hair. She was still wearing the same smile.

"Hmmm, I'll go by myself," she refused An's invitation. She then looked away and was about to walk to school when,

"WAIT!!", Oishi bellowed, catching everyone's attention.

Ryoko turned her head to where Oishi stood up. As well as everybody else.

"What now, Oishi?", Eiji asked.

Oishi's hands clenched with his head low, facing the ground, thinking deeply.

"_For Ryoko, for Ryoko, for Ryoko, for Ryoko_," He thought of that unendingly, waiting for the bravery to come into him. At last, he decided to speak up for himself. He lifted his head.

"As your vice captain," He cleared his throat. "I should have the most privilege to pick Ryoko-chan up," he stated.

Everybody paused for a while, resulting into silence.

"Oishi-kun," Eiji said gently. Everyone still pausing.

Oishi looked at them, one by one. He noticed no one answered him back that moment.

"_Is this right? I won?_", Oishi thought as his lips lengthened slowly.

Silence once again descended.

Minutes passed by, still there was silence.

"Everyone," Oishi broke the silence, thinking that his company gave Ryoko up for him. He was touched. He decided to thank everyone for their sacrifice. "Thank you for you--"

"BASTARD!" the boys yelled, making the noise worse than ever. Oishi was shocked.

"W-what is it? I thought you guys already given Ryoko up for me!", Oishi tried to clear thing up.

"Who's giving up who?", They started approaching Oishi with rage.

"Don't use your position for your dirty tactics!", Momo yelled.

They began punching Oishi.

"Aaaaahhhhh!", Oishi yelled. They started punching each other, punching further and further.

Ryoko tapped once again her forehead and sighed in shame, "Why should this happened?" she murmured.

An just looked at the fight, as well as Fuji (Fuji won't act like Momo and his other senpais! He's just so cool you know! *giggles*) Fuji giggled for a while and then looked at Ryoko's embarrassed face. He neared her. An saw his move. She ran immediately towards Ryoko, trying to approach her earlier than Fuji.

"Ryoko, let's go!", An grabbed Ryoko's wrist and pulled her. It was so obvious that she was worried because Ryoko might seduce Fuji even more.

"Wait a mome--", Ryoko tried to stop her. But An grabbed her harder. This made Ryoko be out-balanced and lost her grip on her bag. Her bag fell on the ground.

"My bag," she called. An saw her bag on the ground, and decided to let Ryoko go to get it. Ryoko neared her bag and bent her body and she reached for her bag. But before she could reach it, Fuji grabbed her bag and lifted it. Ryoko looked at him. Fuji gazed at her too and smiled. Ryoko lifted her body and faced Fuji.

"Here, Ryoko-chan," Fuji lend Ryoko her bag. He smiled even wider. "Thanks," she lifted her hand and was about to get it. An saw the whole thing and rushed to Ryoko. When she arrived, she immediately snatched Ryoko's bag, and grabbed Ryoko's arm.

"Let's go, Ryoko!", she pulled Ryoko away from Fuji, wearing worries and horrible expressions.

"Wait--Ouch!", Ryoko said innocently. An's grip on her arm was way to tight. Fuji heard Ryoko's complain. He wore his lovely smile off and grabbed Ryoko's other hand, GENTLY. This made An stopped.

"You're hurting her An," Fuji told her calmly.

An looked at Fuji horribly. She faked a smile. "Is something wrong, Fuji-kun?", she asked him, playing innocent, pretending not to hear what Fuji stated earlier. He looked at An seriously.

"I said, you're hurting her," he was referring to Ryoko.

An's smile wore off her face. She froze. She slowly let go her tight grip on Ryoko. When she fully let go off Ryoko's arm, Fuji saw red traces of An's hand on Ryoko's arm, proving that the grip was really tight and painful. Fuji reached for Ryoko's "injured" arm. He held it softly.

"I'm sure the tight grip was painful," He said softly, like an angel, as he caressed her arm.

An looked at them and was ashamed, not because she hurt Ryoko, but because she hurt Ryoko **_in front of Fuji_**. She was afraid of what Fuji might think about her. She looked and turned away from them, still ashamed.

"I'm okay," Ryoko took back her arms. Fuji smiled at her. Ryoko took her bag from An. When she was about to walk to school (again), Fuji suddenly spoke.

"Are you still gonna walk to school?", he asked Ryoko. Ryoko stopped and asked back without turning back, "Why do you ask?"

Fuji sounded his smile and answered, "Because it's already 6:59, 16 minutes before classes start,"

Ryoko was surprised. She thought it was just 6:30 before and now, 6:59? Gosh what a difference!

"So?....," she said.

Fuji smiled, "So a **_vehicle_** can help," he answered.

"I'll just walk to school," she insisted. She sounded cool, as if she doesn't care about the time (even though she really was worried). Fuji smiled and looked at his wrist watch.

"Ah, it's already 7:01 am. Time is really fast right, Ryoko-chan?", he said, obviously trying to convince her to go with him.

"Gulp!", she reacted. She lowered her head. "I..," she said. Fuji listened carefully.

"I guess a vehicle can help....," She continued.

Fuji was really happy. He thought that this could be a chance to be closer to her. He went near his car and opened one of its door. Ryoko turned and sighed and walked towards it.

"Here, Ryoko-chan," Fuji invited. Ryoko looked at him and then went inside the car. Fuji was about to close the door when he noticed An. He looked at her and said, "You wanna go with us?", he asked her.

"I....," An said. "I'll go with them," An finished as she points the retards still fighting over Ryoko.

"Okay," he said. He was about to close the door when,

"I can close it myself," Ryoko insisted.

"Okay," Fuji let go off the door and went to the other side and went inside. Ryoko closed the door herself.

They sat down next to each other. The driver (let's assume the Fuji family has a driver) started the engine and went off.

* * *

"Shut up!" The fight hasn't been stopped yet. They continued throwing punches and sharp words.

"Nya!! I know, Ryoko will go with me...right Ryoko-chan?" Eiji said as he turns his head to the direction where Ryoko stood before.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!", Eiji was shocked for Ryoko was no where to be found.

They all looked at the surroundings and found nothing. "RYOKO-CHAN!", they all called.

"Where is she?!" Inui asked. "Was she kidnapped?! NO!", Kawamura cried. They all panicked.

An stood in a constant position. She looked at the bunch.

"Fuji-senpai picked her up already in his car for school," she tried to calm them down. She faked a smile.

The bunch frozed, shocked. They all gaped.

Silence followed.

"Fuji....senpai," Kaidoh called. He was still freezing, wearing the shocked face. Seconds past.

"Fuji....senpai," Momo called.

"Fuji....senpai," Kawamura called.

"Fuji....senpai," Inui called.

"Fujiko.....," Eiji called.

"Fu....ji," Oishi called.

They looked down and clenched their fists (gosh, i really like the phrase "clenched their fists". I always use it at least once in a chapter! hehehe!). They were dismayed. They were jealous. They suddenly looked up and yelled with rage,

"FFUUJJII!"

* * *

_In Fuji's car..._

Ryoko looked outside through the windshield near her, with her head placed above her hand, leaning her head on it (just please understand, I'm not good in stating what I imagine:(). Fuji looked at her, still smiling. As he observed her, he noticed Ryoko's pale skin and pale lips. He also noticed that she wasn't active enough to even...move.

"Are you okay, Ryoko-chan?", he asked her, not taking is eyes off her.

"....yeah," she answered in a low voice, still in her position. Suddenly, she felt a pang on her head. She held her forehead.

"Ouch..." she complained. Fuji was so attentive, (well he didn't even glance on other things but Ryoko) that he heard her complain. He quickly held both of Ryoko's shoulders and said worriedly, "A-are you okay?" He looked at her with worries.

"Does something hurt?", he asked.

Ryoko was still holding her forehead. She closed her eyes and faced front (not facing Fuji).

"...my head...My head hurts," Ryoko answered with traces of pain visible on her face. She

"Your head hurts?", Fuji stated. He had the idea that maybe, Ryoko is sick. He lifted his hand and placed it on Ryoko's forehead, trying to feel her temperature. After moments,

"You have a fever," he stated. He was worried even more. He took his hand down and held Ryoko's arms. "Since when did you feel pain from your head?", he asked.

Ryoko looked at him and answered, "Remember when I said 'Ouch' as An pulls me away? I said that not because of her tight grip, but because I felt a sharp pain in my head,"

"Let's go to the doctor and--",

"No thanks," Ryoko refused. She didn't even let him finished what he was saying.

The car stopped and parked in front of Seigaku's gate. Ryoko noticed this and took back her hand. "Thanks for the ride," she said as she took her back and held the door's opener (opener?). Fuji immediately grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Your fever will worsen if you won't rest yourself," Fuji said, wearing off his angelic smile.

Ryoko turned to look at him and said, "We'll have our field trip today. Afterwards, we'll make a report regarding it. So I can't miss this day,"

Fuji smiled and complimented, "You really care about school,"

"Not really," she answered. Fuji gripped off her arm and let her out the car. He stayed inside while Ryoko went inside the school. Fuji leaned his head on his seat in the car.

"_So, it's Ryoko's class that will have the field trip,_" he thought. "Guess I don't have to worry anymore..."

He went outside and gone to school as well.

* * *

**At last, I'm done with this chaptie! Umm...well...I'm sorry for those people who like and love An, I need to use her as a villain. Please don't get mad at me! *hides***

**Stay tuned for the continuation of this chapter, well I'm still thinking of what will be its title. Thank you and have a nice day!**

**~lovefan123~**


	14. The Field Trip Part 2

**Chapter 14 - The Field Trip Part 2**

The door of Ryoko's classroom slowly opened, catching everyone's attention. After the door completely opened, Ryoko showed herself to the class.

"Good morning Ryoko-chan!", her classmates (not all but mostly boys) smiled at her as they greet her good morning.

Ryoko just snubbed them, well not snubbed but just ignored them. She walked towards her seat.

"Aah, Ryoko-chan's so **_early_**," one of the boys announced as Ryoko walked to her place. The boys nodded as well, obviously trying to catch her precious attention.

"_Liar, it's 7:14 now and they consider it as **early**?_" she murmured, pretending that she did not hear the stupid compliment of her classmate. She reached her place and there she sat. She fixed her things.

"Good morning Ryoko-chan," Tomo and Sakuno greeted her as they neared her. Ryoko played deaf and just continued fixing her stuff as always. Tomo was so excited about something that she jumped on Ryoko and hugged her tightly. She shook Ryoko up. Sakuno was surprised and was ashamed for her dear friend.

"What the--", Ryoko reacted on what Tomo's doing at her. She tried to yank from Tomo but she can't. Well, she can actually yank from Tomo with no sweat, but Tomo is a girl and she might get hurt if she pushes her (Tomo) away from her, because she was a boy before and boys are stronger than boys right? (just understand please).

"Tomo-chan, calm down," Sakuno tried to stop her as she caressed Tomo.

"Let go! W-what's wrong with you?!", Ryoko asked, obviously, she was pissed off.

Tomo finally stopped shaking Ryoko, but she was still hugging her. She smiled. Her smile was so wide that it could reach her ears. She looked at Ryoko closely.

"What's wrong with you?!", Ryoko asked once again. Tomo smiled even wider.

"Hehehe," she started her answer with a laugh and continued, "I saw you!", she said those words in a teasing tone.

"You saw what?", Ryoko asked, trying to finish their conversation so that Tomo will finally let go. She was really pissed off.

"You were with Fuji lately, right?", Tomo told Ryoko, still grinning maliciously.

"So?....," Ryoko stated.

"Were you guys.....um...you know....," Tomo tried to explain what she was thinking.

"No," Ryoko answered her question even though Tomo wasn't done asking. Perhaps her question was so obvious already.

"You two aren't dating?", she asked frankly. "But you....in his car...",

"No," she answered the first question as she gripped Tomo's arm around her neck and pushing them away from her. "Fuji-senpai just invited me for a ride to school because it was just 14 minutes before the classes starts," she said calmly.

Tomo stood up straight and was still looking at Ryoko. Silenced descended for a while and then,

"Waaahh! Fuji-senpai's so generous!", she cheered happily. She grabbed both Ryoko's hands and neared her face to hers.

"What did he tell you? Um, Is his words sweeeeettt?", Tomo asked a thousand of questions to her. Tomo was blushing and her face was so red. She was really interested.

"Nothing," Ryoko answered in one word. She took her hand back and then looked away from her, continuing to fix her stuff.

"Eh? Nothing? That's impossible, impossible," she stated.

"Mada mada dane..." she exclaimed.

Their teacher finally arrived. She opened the door of the classroom, making the students get back in their respective seats. She came in and faced the class.

"Are you ready for the field trip?", she asked her students with a smile.

"FIELD TRIP?!", Tomo's yell was heard all over the classroom. The student as well as the teacher looked at her.

"What's the matter, Ms. Tomo?", (does anybody knows Tomo's family name? please tell me.) the teacher asked.

Tomo looked at the teacher sadly. She was teary that time.

Ms. Nanako neared Tomo. "Ms. Tomo, are you alright?", She said.

"I...I...", she started. Her tears started falling through her cheeks.

"Tomo-chan," Sakuno called. She was worried about her.

"W-why are you crying?", Ms. Nanako asked her.

Tomo looked at her, she was crying. "I FORGOT TO LET MY PARENTS SIGN THE PERMIT!", she cried. She buried her face with her hands. She cried aloud.

"Gosh, Ms. Tomo, I can't let you join the field trip if your parents did not sign the permit," The teacher stated calmly.

Tomo cried louder. As the teacher and Tomo shared their statement, the door opened. All turned to look at the one opening it. They saw An.

"I'm sorry I am late," she apologized as she bowed her head.

The teacher looked at her and said, "Proceed to your seat now, Ms. Tachibana. I hope you won't do this again,"

"Sure do, Ma'am," she proceeded to her place and sat down.

"Waaaaaahhhh!", Tomo bellowed. She cried and cried harder.

"What's with her?", An murmured, looking at Tomo curiously.

"That's what we have agreed yesterday. No signature, no field trip. So you must stay here," The teacher told Tomo.

An smiled evily. "So she did not have her parents permission on the field trip, huh?...," she giggled. "Well then, I don't have to worry much on hurting Ryoko...cause her loud friend Tomo is out!," she laughed silently as she snubbed Tomo.

The bell rang, signalling that the school bus is ready.

The teacher sighed at Tomo, who was still crying. She walked to the front and faced the class.

"Class, proceed to the tennis courts now. I will discuss things about the field trip we'll be having," she announced as she walked out the door.

"Yes, ma'am," The students replied as they prepared their things and started moving out the room. Sakuno neared her crying friend.

"T-Tomo-chan," she said. "Don't worry, I'll tell you every detail of our field trip....promise," she promised, trying to cheer up Tomo. Tomo lifted her head and faced Sakuno, with tracks of her tears on her face.

"Okay," she said. She buried her face once again and fell asleep.

"Tomo-chan?", Sakuno called. But her friend was already asleep. So she proceeded to the tennis court already with her things.

* * *

"Okay class," Ms. Nanako started her speech for her class at the side of the tennis courts. The Seigaku tennis regulars were also there, standing behind Ms. Nanako. They were in line.

The students lend their ears to their dear teacher. They fell on five lines in front of Ms. Nanako.

"We'll have our field trip on the different tennis clubs on different schools...," Ms. Nanako explained their field trip.

But upon hearing the teacher's statement, they began to cheer in excitement, except for Ryoko.

"_Different tennis clubs?," _Ryoko wondered. She thought about the different schools she fought and won through tennis when she was still Echizen, Ryoma. She looked down heavy-heartedly. She really missed being a guy like she was before.

Sakuno noticed Ryoko's gloomy face. She neared her and patted her back.

"What's wrong, Ryoko-chan?", Sakuno asked her. She was concerned.

Ryoko lifted her head without looking at her. "Nothing," she said, wearing her expressionless face again.

"If you have problems," Sakuno started. "....don't hesitate to tell me or Tomo. We are your friends," She gave off a big smile at Ryoko.

Ryoko was speechless for a while. She blushed slightly and said, "Whatever." They both lend their ears to their teacher after talking.

"I'm not the one who will guide you in this field trip, class," Ms. Nanako announced.

"Eh!", the students reacted on her statement.

"Silence, silence," She continued. "These guys," she pointed the Seigaku regulars. "These guys will be your ushers that will guide you in this trip."

"Eh!", the student reacted again.

"Good day!", the regulars greeted the students as they bowed their heads to show respect (take note, **all** the regulars, including Tezuka this time).

The girls blushed (except Ryoko and the boys duh!). Afterwards the girls cheered in excitement.

"We'll be accompanied by Fuji-sama and Tezuka-sama!", one of the girls said as she jumped in excitement.

"Yeah! Momo-sama, Kaidoh-sama, Eiji-sama, and all of them! I can't believe this day!", another cheered, giggled, and jumped in excitement.

"Huh? What the--", An complained. She thought that the regulars might destroy her plans on Ryoko. "WHy them?!", she asked herself as her hands clenched in anger. "Damn thi--," she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Relax, An. You can still do your plans when the senpais are not around," she told herself.

Momo lifted his arm up and announced, "I'll protect all of you, especially..." He lowered his arm, shoulder level, and pointed Ryoko. "You, Ryoko-chan...", he said those with confidence.

"What the--," the other regulars, except Fuji and Tezuka, complained.

"That bastard...," the male students got angry at Momo, for they're in love with her too.

"Momo-senpai!", his admirers got jealous at Ryoko because Momo's attention was on her, even though she's only a freshman.

"Momo!", An said silently. "Damn, she's just too much!", she was obviously referring to Ryoko. She became angrier.

Ryoko was speechless. Sakuno was surprised. Ryoko tapped her hand on her forehead as she sighed, she was a bit ashamed. "W-what's wrong with him," she murmured.

Just in a distance, Tezuka was looking at her secretly. Well' it wasn't obvious because of his expressionless face. He looked at her closely, as if he was studying her. He remained staring at her secretly.

"Silence now, I need silence," Ms. Nanako said. She turned her head to where the bus is. Then she announced, "Okay, the bus is ready and I know you are too. Hop in the bus now,"

"Hai," the students replied as they went inside the bus to find their seats. Finally, after moments of waiting, it was Ryoko's turn to hop in the bus, followed by Sakuno. She entered the bus and was ashamed of what she saw.

"Sit here, Ryoko-chan!", the male students reserved the seats beside them only for Ryoko. There were so ,amy vacant seat reserved for her, leaving some girls standing just because the boys won't let them sit on the vacant seats. The boys at Ryoko smiled and blushed and were desperate.

"Nya! You're just too young for that," Eiji told the boys. He was sitting on his seat beside an empty seat. He sat there, so relaxed.

"I know your tired, Ryoko-chan...," he cleared his throat. "This sit in here is.........available," he stood up and showed the empty seat.

"That's dirty!", the male student said.

"What's dirty?", Eiji asked.

"YOU!", the boys said.

"Nani?!"

They started throwing words.

"Ryoko-chan, Sakuno-chan," An called. She was sitted in a seat with empty seats on her both sides.

Ryoko and Sakuno turned to An.

"I reserved these seats for you guys," she smiled at the two.

"Thank you, An-chan," Sakuno thanked An. She held Ryoko's arm and said, "Let's seat there,"

Ryoko looked at her and said with a bit of doubts, "O...kay..,"

They both marched to their seats beside An. They sat down on the said chairs.

"Aaahh!", the boys yelled with dismay. "Ryoko-chan found a seat!", they continued.

Ryoko sat down and lean her head against the back part of her chair. She closed her eyes, she was really tired. Her head hurts so badly. She was really dizzy because of her fever. But she never let anyone see her like that. She kept her eyes closed. An looked at her, trying to annoy her, purposely.

"Ryoko-chan," An started. "....are you excited in our field trip?", she asked.

"Not really," Ryoko answered with her eyes still closed.

"Liar," An faked a giggle.

"I'm not a hypocrite," Ryoko told An still in her constant position.

"I know you like to meet more...,"

"More what?",

An smiled evily. "you know....**_boys_**..", she was obviously trying to make Ryoko admit and accept her accuse. She raised one of her eyebrows.

Ryoko was confused on what An had asked. "What do you mean?", she asked her.

"Stop playing _**dumb**_, Ryoko," An's happy tone changed.

"I'm not,"

"Yes you are,"

Ryoko was pissed off a bit. She suddenly remembered some things An did to her, the bad things. An may not know, Ryoko slowly notice the foolishness she does on her. Yes, Ryoko notice that An was doing **_strange_** things to her. Thinking of those things, she suddenly slipped her tongue and said, accidentally

"Stop playing **_innocent_**, An," still with her closed eyes.

An was shocked. She got angry at her. She was affected by Ryoko's statement. Even if she won't admit it, guilt made her act like that. She bit her lower lip in anger.

"Da--,"

"Our first destination...," Tezuka stood up and announced, catching everyone attention. An looked at him while Ryoko was still in her position, but she was listening to Tezuka, the speaker. His sudden announcement cooled An's witch head and stopped her from saying rude words at Ryoko.

"...is the Fudomine Academy (Academy??)," he continued. He glanced at Ryoko (who was still in her constant position). He thought she wasn't listening at all. He sat down after his announcement.

"Fudomine?", Sakuno said. She looked at An. "It's your brother's school, An-chan,"

An stared at Sakuno as well. She faked a smile and answered, "Yeah,"

Silence descended between the three.

After minutes of riding the bus, they finally reached their destination- Fudomine. Oishi stood up and this time, it's his turn to speak.

"_Alright, Ryoko-chan will notice me this way_," he thought. He cleared his throat and looked at the class. "We're here in our first destination, the Fudomine Academy. Now, slowly leave this bus with your pens and notebooks because you'll jot down notes," he announced, smiling broadly as if he was talking to **_young KIDS_**. You know, he was just doing that "weird" smile to impress Ryoko.

* * *

"Tsk, trying hard," Momo murmured. He was at the very back of the bus together with the other senpais. He knew already Oishi's motive.

Eiji sighed, "Eh, Oishi senpai's trying to impress Ryoko," he added.

"Hmmm," that's all Fuji can say. He wore his beautiful (he always wear it unless something serious happened).

The six senpais kept their conversation going. Tezuka just remained sitted, he was quiet. Eiji noticed Tezuka. He noticed that Tezuka never joins conversations about Ryoko. He looked at Tezuka.

"Eh, captain's not joining us," he commented. Tezuka wasn't listening to them at all. Momo grabbed Eiji's right should, making Eiji face him. The other regulars looked at the two.

"Are you crazy?", Momo started. "It clearly means he's not attracted to her, Duh!", he kept his voice low so that Tezuka won't hear them.

"It's better this way than having another rival," Kawamura told Eiji, with a low voice like Momo's.

"But, I think it would be the best if captain will fall in love with Ryoko-chan," Kaidoh stated. Everyone was shock except himself and Inui. They all turned to Kaidoh.

"Are you crazy!", Kawamura asked with his voice raised.

"Ssshhh!", everybody told Kawamura. Kawamura covered his mouth and said, "Sorry," He stopped covering his mouth and told Kaidoh again, "Are you crazy?", this time, with a low voice.

"Because...," he was about to explain when,

"Because it's fun," Inui continued Kaidoh's statement.

"IT"S FUN?", everybody except the two wondered.

"Because it's fun to see Tezuka lose in this **_game of love_**," Inui continued. He turned at Kaidoh. "I'm 95% sure that was what you're thinking,"

"Yeah, fuuushhuuu," Kaidoh agreed.

They all smiled.

"Eh, nice idea, Kaidoh," Fuji congratulated him.

"Heh, I did not know you can think of an idea that nice, Viper," Momo told him.

* * *

The students started to move out of the bus. They brought with them their notebooks and pens.

"Be careful on your steps," Oishi told the students as the pupils move out of the bus.

The last person to move out was Ryoko. Oishi, as an opportunity seeker, neared Ryoko to have a one-on-one conversation with her. He was so excited and nervous. His face started to turn red.

"Huh! OISHI," the senpais saw Oishi's move, as well as Tezuka. They looked at him and her closely.

"What is he trying to do now?", Kawamura murmured as the six of them find a place to hide. Tezuka was still in his seat, looking at the two.

"Did you bring your pen, Ryoko-chan?", Oishi asked her, he was sweating a lot. He was still wearing the same smile.

"Yeah," Ryoko said.

"How about your notebook?" Oishi asked once again.

Ryoko looked at Oishi expressionlessly and said frankly, "Why you keep on asking, Oishi-senpai? It's so obvious I brought them with me," Ryoko was holding those things before Oishi neared her. It was really visible that she was bringing it. Oishi looked at the things she was holding. He was ashamed.

"Uh, y-yeah, i did not...see them," he said ashamedly.

The senpais bursted into laughter seeing Oishi's failure.

"What a shame, Oishi," Eiji laughed as well as the others (duh, except Tezuka). They continued eavesdropping.

Ryoko sighed and walked away passing Oishi. Oishi turned to Ryoko, who was almost at the door of the bus, and said,

"Ryoko-chan!",

Ryoko stopped walking and looked at Oishi. "What?", she asked.

"What now, Oishi?", Inui murmured.

"U-um," Oishi became more nervous. "Anou...be careful with your steps, Ryoko-chan," he warned her.

Silence descended for a while and then,

"Oishi-senpai...", Ryoko began to talk.

"Hmm?", Oishi asked.

The senpais listened closely, they looked serious.

"....I am,"

Oishi was really, really nervous of what Ryoko might tell him.

"I'm not a kid anymore. You don't need to tell me that. It's really annoying. I can handle myself. " Ryoko complained. She was annoyed on those "child-like" warnings.

"EEEEHHHH!" Oishi cried. He was deeply hurt, offended, as if he was hit by a dashing bullet train, hit by a collapsing builed, stabbed in the heart, everything painful.

"Eh...that was....harsh," Fuji murmured.

"Poor Oishi," Eiji felt sorry for his friend.

"Ryoko-chan's...hard to deal with..fuu..shuu..", Kaidoh murmured.

"Oishi..." Kawamura called.

"That was really...hurtful..", Momo murmured.

"Oishi 100%...offended..", Inui added.

Silence descended. Then suddenly,

"Is that the way you talk to your senpai?", Tezuka told Ryoko. He stood up looking at her.

"Captain!", Kawamura called.

"Tezuka," Fuji called. All of the six senpais were worried on what Tezuka might tell Ryoko. They all stood up. Ryoko looked at Tezuka, Oishi looked at him too.

"Did...I say something wrong?", Ryoko asked him.

Momo rushed towards her and pushed her gently. "Ryoko-chan...y-y-you should better be going..." He instructed her to prevent the conversation from getting hotter.

"Stop it, Momo!", Tezuka instructed him. He looked so damn serious.

"But captain--"

"Stay away from this," Tezuka once again instructed. Momo had no choice but to follow his captain. He took a few steps backward. Tezuka turned back to Ryoko. His expression was so damn serious and....._**scary.**_

* * *

**What will Tezuka tell/do to Ryoko? Will it be positive or negative?**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out the answers for these questions.**

**Chapter 15 -Fudomine**

**I'll leave you hanging for a while....(please review to get me inspired to write). Sorry guys, I'm planning to take a break from writing for a week or more to study...but through your reviews might change my mind and get me energized to write further...Don't worry, even if I wont be able to write in a week or more, I promise I won't abandon this story...**

**Thank you and have a nice day!**

**~lovefan123~**


	15. Fudomine

**Chapter 15 - Fudomine**

_*flashback*_

"Is that the way you talk to your senpai?", Tezuka finally spoke up. He looked at Ryoko, seriously. He stood up.

He caught all the attention of everyone there.

"Captain!", Kawamura called.

"Tezuka," Fuji called. All of the six senpais were worried on what Tezuka might tell Ryoko. They all stood up. Ryoko looked at Tezuka, Oishi looked at him too.

"Did...I say something wrong?", Ryoko asked him.

Momo rushed towards her and pushed her gently. He knew something unpleasant will happen, as well as the others except Ryoko. "Ryoko-chan...y-y-you should better be going..." He instructed her to prevent the conversation from getting any hotter.

"Stop it, Momo!", Tezuka instructed him. He looked so damn serious.

"But captain--"

"Stay away from this," Tezuka once again instructed. Momo had no choice but to follow his captain. He took a few steps backward. Tezuka turned back to Ryoko. His expression was so damn serious and....._**scary.**_

**

* * *

**

"Momo's right, Tezuka. She should be going, or else she'll lack in notes," Oishi defended Momo. He faked a smile. He looked at Ryoko and tried to push her away gently, like what Momo did.

"It's still useless, Oishi," Tezuka insisted. He made Oishi stopped for awhile. He took a few steps forward. "They'll not know what to jot down without us," he continued, still wearing the same expression.

Heat there became hotter and hotter as seconds passed by. Their hearts, except Ryoko's and Tezuka's, started to pound fastly. Their sweat (same exception) started to form a pool of sweat because of nervousness.

"I want to talk to her...**_alone_**," he told the senpais. The senpais got him and knew that he wants them to leave. They have no choice, but to follow their captain's command. They took some steps and went out of the bus...with tons of doubts.

"What is it you wanna talk about?", Ryoko asked after the senpais move out. She looked at Tezuka seriously.

"You did something wrong," Tezuka answered her previous question. He looked at her too. "You showed no respect to someone older than you," he complained.

"I did not think of it as showing no respect," she answered back calmly. "I just told him what I felt," she stated.

"Couldn't you use any less rude words?", he asked with same tone and expression.

"..." Ryoko hummed. "Were those words rude?", she asked back, thinking that those words aren't rude.

Tezuka's eyebrows curved more.

"You're still not answering my question," he told her frankly.

Ryoko's eyebrows curved as well.

"I answered it with a question," she insisted.

"..."

"What's it to you, Ca--, I mean, Tezuka-san?" She asked innocently.

"Don't treat **_them_** as **_slaves_**," Tezuka told her frankly.

"I did not treat anyo--"

"You knew they're crazy for you, don't you?", he asked.

Ryoko was speechless for a moment.

"You think you could do whatever you want to them just because you know they'll never refuse you," he stated.

"I did not told them to do anything for my own sake," she defended herself. "And I did not tell them to go crazy for me either,"

"You did. You told Oishi rudely because you think you can say anything you want to them," Tezuka insisted.

Ryoko got annoyed. She did not intend those. She curved her eyebrows even more. She clenched her fists slightly.

"Don't you know you're being **_abusive_**?", Tezuka asked.

Ryoko looked at him fiercely.

"What's with all those accusations?", she asked with annoyance. She ignored his question.

Tezuka adjusted his glasses. Then he placed his hands inside his pockets.

"I just want you to stop the mistakes you are doing," he answered her. "I also don't want them to be abused," he added.

"Abused?", she complained. "If you're on my position, you'll definitely **_feel the same_**,"

"I won't,"

"Who are you to judge me anyway?", she was really annoyed. She asked him with a bit higher tone. "You don't know anything about me!" She fully clenched her fists and looked at him furiously. She inched backward. "You think you're always right?" she added.

"I'm just telling--", Tezuka tried to state.

"Yes, you are!" she answered her own question without letting Tezuka finish his statement. "And not listening to my side is the proof," she added. She turned back angrily and walked away, leaving Tezuka in the bus.

* * *

Ryoko walked down the stairs of the bus, wearing her calm expression again. There, Kaidoh, Fuji, Oishi, Eiji, Inui, Kawamura, and Momo waited for her. When they saw Ryoko walking down the staircase, they panicked. They were indeed so worried for Ryoko. They could not help it, so they bombard Ryoko with so many questions regarding their conference.

"Ryoko-chan!" they called when they saw Ryoko.

"Ryoko-chan, are you ok?", Kawamura asked.

"Nya! Ryoko-chan are you ok?!", Eiji cried.

"Sorry, Ryoko-chan! It was all my fault!", Oishi told her sincerely.

Ryoko just continued walking down the staircase of the bus.

"How does the conference went?", Fuji asked, concerned.

"Yeah Ryoko-chan. How did it went?", Inui asked.

"I'll avenge you, Ryoko-chan if captain did something wrong," Momo sweared.

"How did it went, Ryoko-chan?...fuushuu!", Kaidoh repeated Fuji's question.

They continued asking Ryoko the same question. So Ryoko decided to answer it.

"It went...," she started.

The senpais neared their faces a bit to Ryoko's, trying to absorb Ryoko's statement. They were all curious. Ryoko at them for a while, she closed her eyes and sighed.

"It went **_well_**," she lied. She made her way out of the crowd and proceeded to the tennis courts of Fudomine.

The senpais looked at her as she walks away from them.

"...**_well_**?", they wondered.

As they looked at Ryoko, they heard footsteps coming from the bus. Every second it sounded louder and louder, as if it was nearing the door of the bus. They turned to look at the bus' door and waited. After few moments, Tezuka showed up. The senpais was shocked and panicked that maybe he knew they were disobeying his command "leaving them alone". They all looked away and some of them whistled to cover their worries.

"What are you doing in here?", Tezuka asked.

"Uh...," they began to panic, thinking of their answer to his question.

"Anou..", Fuji turned to their captain and spoke up. They all looked at Fuji. "...We're waiting for you...", he completed his statement. The seven senpais sighed in relief.

"Is that so?", Tezuka told them.

"Uh!..," they panicked again.

Tezuka looked away and said, "Let's do our job now,"

The seven senpais again sighed in relief. They faked a smile and agreed to their captain.

* * *

"Ryoko-chan, what took you so long?", Sakuno asked Ryoko with worries.

"Aah, why is that so?", An was not concerned about her, she was afraid that maybe, she mingled with the senpais, especially Momo.

"Um...", she started. She grasp her notebook tightly. "I had a hard time finding my notebook in my bag," she lied again.

An was relieved, as well as Sakuno.

"Let's go to the tennis courts then," An invited the two.

"Aah," the two agreed. They went off to the courts.

* * *

"Eh...Sugoi!", one of the students murmured. She and the rest of the class except the three were amazed by the cool tennis courts of the school. The students talked for a while, and the noise started to worsen.

"Eh..I haven't been here for a long time," Sakuno said as she examined every detail of the tennis courts.

An smiled. "The tennis club really improved," she boasted.

"Is Tachibana-san still the captain in the club?", Ryoko asked An.

"Of course," An answered. "The regular members of the club won't want him to resign as the captain,"

"So Tachibana-san is really a nice captain," Sakuno told An.

"Eh...," Ryoko murmured.

After moments, the senpais showed themselves. They walked to the front of the students.

"Form 5 lines now," Fuji gently told the students.

The students followed him of course. They started to fall in line. After they were fixed, Oishi rushed to the tennis club to tell the tennis regulars of the said school to at least introduce themselves to the students for the sake of their field trip.

"Introduce ourselves?", Kamio asked Oishi.

Oishi looked at him and said, "Aah, please do!", he bowed down to convince them to do his favor.

Ibu ran his fingers through his hair and murmured, "We have no choice but to do it, since our fans are waiting for us there,"

"Sounds fun!", Kyousuke reacted upon hearing Ibu's speech. They all looked at Tachibana.

"Captain...," Tetsu started. "...shall we?", he continued.

Tachibana tangled his arm with his other arm and leaned against the wall nearest to him. He closed his eyes and began thinking deeply.

"_...if I'm not mistaken,_" he thought silently. "_...An's there too,_"

He opened his eyes and then looked at Oishi and the others. "It's okay with me," he finally agreed.

Oishi slowly smiled and slowly lifted his body. "Thank you," he was grateful to them. He bowed down again to show his gratefulness.

"Then...let's go!", Masaya, a fudomine tennis regular, suggested. Everyone agreed to his suggestion. Oishi lifted his upper body again and lead the way to where the class is.

* * *

"Jaa, let's wait for Oishi," Fuji announced to the class.

He gave them a smile. He glanced at Ryoko, who was leaning the back part of her head against her arms, which were raised and bent and tangled with each other like a knot. Ryoko wasn't really listening to any of the ushers, in fact she was examining the tennis courts there.

"_It's...been a long time_," Ryoko thought. She remembered her happy memories when she was still Ryoma, memories about him playing tennis, his beloved sport. She was really sad about what happened to her now - trapped inside a girl's body. You can see her sadness through her eyes, which were looking down. How she longed to be Ryoma again.

Fuji noticed Ryoko, who was sad. He stopped smiling and wondered why she is sad after examining the tennis courts. The other senpais noticed Fuji looking at something. They were curious and so, they looked at where Fuji was looking. There they saw the sorrowful Ryoko.

"Ryo...ko," Inui murmured as well as the others. Tezuka heard his call and looked at Ryoko too. There he noticed Ryoko, who was...so down.

"Why is she...sad?", Momo murmured. They were still looking at Ryoko.

Sakuno stared at her. She noticed her sad face too.

"Ryoko...chan?", she murmured upon seeing her gloomy friend. An heard her and looked at Ryoko too. She also noticed what everybody seemed to notice.

"What's wrong with her?", she asked softly. Sakuno positioned to approach her and she did. So An followed her.

"Ryoko-chan, is something wrong?", Sakuno asked her.

Ryoko heard her and she immediately changed her expression. She dropped her arms and turned to go to the crowd.

"Nothing," she answered her as she slowly walked to the crowd. An and Sakuno looked at her as she marched.

"I know there's something wrong...," An told her as if she was convincing Ryoko to tell what's wrong with her.

Ryoko stopped and paused. Then she said cooly, "Nothing..." she paused and then added her statement, "...and if there is, it's none of anybody's business." She continued to walk.

An pouted jokingly. "Eh, she's still so cold," she speeched. Sakuno faked a smile. "Yeah...It really is her," she commented. Together they marched to the crowd.

"Eh, she's back to her normal state now," Eiji told the other senpais just after he noticed it. The senpais smiled (except Tezuka) and was relieved just by seeing her with no trace of sadness. Tezuka then looked away after Eiji statement.

"Okay, okay," Oishi spoke as he walked towards the crowd together with the Fudomine tennis regulars. He caught everyone's attention.

"Aah! The regulars!", one of the students cheered in amazement seeing the famous regulars. Some students cheered in amazement loudly. Some jumped, some shouted. Ryoko looked at the regulars with no trace of amazement.

"All right now, quiet, quiet," Kamio told the students, as if they were his fans. "It's really hard to be famous," he boasted as he and his gang marched to the crowd.

"As if they're cheering for you," Ibu told Kamio calmly. Kamio heard him and was angry.

"What?!", he bellowed in annoyance.

"Are you deaf or just playing deaf?", Ibu provoked him calmly.

"Shut up!", he stopped walking and looked at Ibu furiously with his hands clenched.

Masaya tapped Kamio's back and said, "Calm down, people can see you,"

Kamio realized what he said and took a deep breath and calmed down. "I can't let my fans see me lose my temper," he told himself.

Tachibana did not mind them and continued marching. On his eyes way he saw...Ryoko. His eyes widen a bit. He stopped walking. His heart pounded hardly. The other Fudomine regulars noticed him and stopped walking.

"What's wrong captain?", Tetsu asked him.

Tachibana did not heard Tetsu for he was focusing on Ryoko. "Ryoko...," he called.

"Ryoko?", they all wondered. They looked at what their captain was looking and in their surprise they saw Ryoko.

"Ryoko!", they all bellowed as they blushed just by looking at her. Everyone heard their shout.

"S***, they saw Ryoko!", the other men said. The male students immediately dashed to Ryoko and surrounded her.

"What the--", Ryoko stated in her surprise. The boys covered her to avoid her exposure to the Fudomine regulars so that they could prevent having more rivals.

Also, the senpais (except Fuji and Tezuka) rushed towards the regulars and blocked their sight.

"What the hell are you doing?!", Kyousuke complained.

The senpais faked a smile and said, "Okay you may go back to your camp now and we'll be the one to introduce you to them without your presence," they slowly began pushing them away.

"Behave yourselves!", Tezuka scolded the senpais. He was pissed off by their behavior. He caught so much attention. The senpais looked at him as well as the regulars. The regulars smiled.

"Jaa, listen to your captain," Kamio made fun of the senpais.

"Kamio!", Tachibana called.

"Gomen, gomen," Kamio replied.

The senpais scattered away and went back to their position, as well as the male students. Silence followed.

Tezuka decided to broke the silence and faced the class.

"They are..." he pointed the regulars. "...the tennis regulars of the Fudomine Academy," he introduced them as a whole. They looked at the bunch and told them not loudly, "Please do intoduce yourselves," He stepped back and then turned and walked to his usual place.

The students prepared their pens and notebooks for they knew they'll need to jot down info's about the regulars. Ryoko just sighed and prepared the things necessary. Tachibana stepped forward and faced the class. He cleared his throat and faced the students expressionlessly.

"I'm Tachibana Kippei," he started.

"Tachibana? Could it be An's...", murmurs descended after Kippei announced his name. Tachibana continued his introduction.

"...I am the captain of the tennis club here in Fudomine," he ended his speech and stepped back. But before he ended his speech, he glanced at Ryoko first, and then stepped back.

The students immediately wrote down what they heard. Ryoko did not write what she heard. She just looked at the regulars of Fudomine. She positioned her arms like a knot at the back of her head again. The next to introduce himself was Kamio. Before he stepped forward, he combed his hair to make it presentable because Ryoko was there. After doing that, he stepped forward and faced the class.

"I'm Akira Kamio," he began his speech. "..and I'm the fastest among my teammates," he boasted. He gazed at Ryoko and winked at her. He then stepped back.

The introduction continued and same thing happened. After their introduction, they end up looking at the beautiful girl. After minutes of introduction, Oishi walked to the front and faced the class.

"Jaa, you can roam around this campus...," Oishi informed them.

The students cheered in joy and started to scatter around.

"Um...be back after 15 minutes!", Oishi announced.

The senpais and regulars compressed and started their conversation. Ryoko walked to the grassy side just around 6 meters away from the tennis courts. She sat down with her knees bent and her arms hugging her legs. She leaned her head on her knees.

"Ryoko-chan," Sakuno called as she approached her. After few seconds, she stopped in front of Ryoko. "Aren't you gonna walk around the school?", she asked her.

"No. I don't feel like it," she answered without changing her position.

Sakuno pouted. "Jaa, I'll go for a walk for a while then," she smiled and walk away.

Ryoko again looked at the tennis courts, examining every detail of it. She was again gloomy. She looked down still in her position. She again remembered the moments before she was cursed.

"Why is this happening to me?", she asked herself softly. "I did not break that crystal ball on purpose," she wondered. She lifted her head and looked side to side, examining the school this time. When she turned her head to the left, she saw a tennis racket leaning against the same wall she was leaning against. She stared at it for a while. She was saddened even more and decided to reach for it. Yes, she did reach for it. She grasp on the racket and pulled it to her. She lifted it, turned it around, examining its features, and observed. How she missed playing tennis.

"_Even if I join a tennis club, I won't be able to enjoy it,_" She thought as she stared at the racket. "_...because I'll have to join a **girls' **tennis club._" It has been a long time being what she is now, and yet, she couldn't forget that she is a girl, because it is the worst thing destroying her life. She continued staring at the racket.

* * *

After a few minutes, the conversation between the senpais (Seigaku regulars) and the regulars (Fudomine regulars) was finally over. The bowed to each other showing respect and went on separate ways. Kippei went straight to the club room and looked for a towel in his bag. He opened his bag and tried to find one. He was successful in his search. But he noticed that one of his rackets is missing for he had 3 rackets in his bag and found only two rackets. He wondered.

"Where's the other one?"

Without any doubts, he went out of the club room and went straight to the courts and the places near the courts suspecting that he might had left his racket somewhere. He looked for it on the courts but it was not there. He looked at the surroundings of the courts and in his surprise, he saw his racket.....being held by Ryoko. He blushed. He stared at Ryoko and gave off a small grin at her. Suddenly, An's words flashed in his mind. The statement of An about Ryoko, and her request for him to stay away fron Ryoko, whom he was beginning to love. He was saddened. He pouted. He felt that there will be no way to have his freedom to love the one he loved. Yet Ryoko was the one he first loved, not only crush. As he continued to gaze at her, he remembered his racket. So he decided to near Ryoko, no, his racket I mean. He walked towards the location and stopped by in front of Ryoko.

Ryoko noticed the shadow on the ground, which gave her some shade. She looked away from the racket she was holding and slowly lifted her head putting her attention to the owner of the shadow blocking the sunshine. She was surprised on what she saw.

* * *

While the senpais tried to talk about things for the succession of the field trip, Tezuka accidentally saw Ryoko and Kippei talking to each other. He stayed looking at them and was not listening to the others anymore. He gave his attention to the two and he doesn't know why. He just can't help feeling a bit of anger just upon seeing the two together, or any other with Ryoko. It was weird. But still he did not know the reason why he was feeling the feeling he felt that time. He just continued to observe the two talking.

* * *

"Tachibana-san," she temporarily gave respect to the captain of the Fudomine tennis club. She stared at him in the eye.

Tachibana too, looked at her in the eye. He felt happiness while Ryoko herself looked at him herself. He smiled at her, giving off a true smile.

"You like tennis too?", he asked her. He was still standing.

Ryoko looked down. She looked at the racket and then looked away. "...No," she denied.

Tachibana wondered about her denial. He could see from her eyes her passion for tennis. She seemed really interested in it. He silenced for a while then bent his knees and put his weight on his feet. He spread his arms around his knees and faced Ryoko.

"..Really?", Tachibana asked her. "I don't think you're telling ther truth." He was still smiling.

Ryoko was surprised. She was because she thought why Tachibana said that. She looked at him and gave off a sigh and then wore her serious face.

"I'm not lying," she insisted. "I don't like tennis, I...I...I love it," she admitted. But she was not happy. In fact, saying those words made her sad, made her miss tennis even more. She looked down.

Tachibana noticed her sadness. "...Why are you sad?", he wondered.

"I...am not sad," she told him even though it was so obvious that she was gloomy.

Tachibana giggled. "Now you're lying," he was sure of it.

Ryoko was guilty about Tachibana's accusation. She blushed. She thought of him as a mindreader. She buried her face in shame.

Tachibana giggled even more. "Jaa, let's play tennis some other time," he invited. He too gave off a big smile to her.

Hearing those words, Ryoko gained energy. She immediately shown her face and was surprised to his statement. How she longed she could play against someone, whose a boy. She was now happy, too happy but she did not show much of it.

"..Really?", she want to confirm it to him again.

Tachibana nodded happily. Ryoko slowly spread her lips and gave a smile, well, not a big smile, but just an ordinary smile to show how happy she was to accept his invitation. Tachibana saw her smile. He can't believe he made her smile and that happy. He was so surprised 'cause it was his first time to see Ryoko smile. He also heard from others that she rarely smiles. He thought of it as a pleasure to make Ryoko smile and happy. He too smiled.

* * *

"Uh," Tezuka exclaimed quietly. He was shocked upon seeing Ryoko happy. It was also his first time to see her smile. He observed Ryoko, and her smile. He doesn't know why but he felt happiness too. But that happiness only lasted for seconds, because he realized that Tachibana was the one who made her smile, not him. The slight anger he felt from the time he saw Tachibana and Ryoko grew upon seeing Ryoko happy with him. He clenched his fists.

_"Why do I feel like this_?", he asked himself. Still, he doesn't have any answer for his own question. He continued to look at the two.

* * *

"Oh," Tachibana took a glance at the racket. "...you found my racket," he told her as if he just saw it after their conversation even though he came to her for the racket.

"Eh?", Ryoko looked at the racket she was holding. "...So this is your racket," she asked.

"Yeah," Tachibana confirmed. He stood up as well as Ryoko. Ryoko lent the racket to him. Tachibana smiled at her and took the racket back.

"Arigatou," he thanked Ryoko.

Ryoko lifted her arm and pointed Tachibana's face and looked at him in the eye. "Jaa, by the time we face in a match, I'll definitely not lose to you," she told him confidently.

"You better make sure of that," Tachibana then smiled. Those words made Ryoko smirk at him. She then dropped her arm still looking at him.

Tachibana blushed for Ryoko looked at him in the eye. But then all the words of An flashed in his mind again. Tachibana stopped smiling and then decided to bid his goodbye to her to prevent from falling in love deeper. He walked away after he bid his goodbye. This was the time Tezuka neared, well not that near, Ryoko with his usual expression. Ryoko noticed him and looked at him seriously.

"You were supposed to jot down things about the club and the campus and yet, you're just flirting around boys," Tezuka was again on his accusations.

"I'm not flirting with others," Ryoko answered back with slight anger.

"Oh really? Then I supposed you can show me the notes you have written down," he suggested with suspicion.

Ryoko was speechless for split seconds for she did not write anything yet in her notebook. She looked down in shame.

"I did not write any note yet," she admitted.

"Oh. So you just joined the field trip to chitchat with males," Tezuka insulted Ryoko.

Ryoko did not actually flirt with boys, we know it. She was just talking to Tachibana about tennis without a motive of seducing him, because she was a boy before. She did not mean it maliciously, but it seemed that Tezuka is bombarding her with so many false accusations. Ryoko was really pissed off, and it was visible on her expression. She clenched her fists.

"Fine. Accuse me with many accusations as possible. I'm stupid, bad, dumb, and many other negative adjectives you can possibly think of. I am flirting with guys, I am abusive, I treat people as slaves, and what else you could accuse me? I'll accept and confirm your accusations. You happy now?", Ryoko answered and raised her voice. She was really angry now. She gave up defending herself from the accusations. Tezuka was surprised. He never thought that it will go this way. He was speechless. Ryoko started to walk away from him angrily. As she passed by him, Tezuka looked down sadly.

"_Sorry,_" he thought. Yes, he did not mean to hurt her that deep. His motive was just that, to prevent Ryoko to near males, because of the reason he does not know either.

"..._I can't...really make her smile like Tachibana,_" he thought. He was really sad and sorry for what he did. He clenched his fists and was angry at himself. He stood there for a while.

After a few minutes, the senpais called for the students to get back and hop in the bus for 15 minutes were over and they will now proceed to the next destination - The Hyoutei Middle School. And after a few moments, the students gathered as well as the senpais, and proceeded to the bus. There, they started another journey to another school.

* * *

**Yay! I'm finally done with this chapter! And this was mainly about Ryoko and Tezuka. Thanks for waiting and I hope you'll like. Please don't hate me if I used Tezuka as somewhat a villain even thoug he's really not. Well, he was obviously in love with Ryoko but he still doesn't know about it so he's not really a villain. So that's all and have a good day!**

**~lovefan123~**


	16. Hyoutei

**Chapter 16 - Hyoutei**

_"Fine. Accuse me with many accusations as possible. I'm stupid, bad, dumb, and many other negative adjectives you can possibly think of. I am flirting with guys, I am abusive, I treat people as slaves, and what else you could accuse me? I'll accept and confirm your accusations. You happy now?" _Tezuka couldn't help but think back of Ryoko's words. He was guilty of what he did.

"_Ryoko,"_ He thought of her as the bus made it's way to the next destination - Hyoutei Middle School. Ryoko's words seemed to be stucked in his mind forever, as his major offense. He did not know what to do now. He's too shy to apologize to her because he doesn't want to let his guard down. He looked at Ryoko, who was staring at the things outside the bus. She seemed unhappy. He thought he might be the reason of her unhappiness. All the things went the opposite way. He seemed to envy Kippei for making her smile. He started to hate himself for making Ryoko angry instead of making her happy.

"_Why did I hurt her so much?_", He thought. He's motive and only motive was just to avoid Ryoko to be with others, and yet he doesn't know the reason why.

"Tezuka? Is anything wrong?", Fuji broke the ice. He noticed Tezuka wasn't in his self. He seemed to think about something deeply that is really important to him.

Tezuka did not hear what Fuji said, as if he was in another world. Fuji waited for his attention but it seemed he wasn't paying any attention at all but to himself.

"Tezuka?", Fuji called once again as he tapped Tezuka's shoulder. This time, Tezuka was brought to his senses. He yanked a bit in surprise and looked at Fuji.

"What is it?", he asked him with his usual expression.

"Is something wrong?", Fuji asked once again with a concerned expression for his friend looks problematic.

Tezuka looked away. "Nothing," is his only answer.

Fuji was puzzled but he did not mind it. He smiled at him and focused his attention on other things. Tezuka was again in the 'problematic' mode. He placed his head on his palm, which was bent and is being leaned on something solid. He once again looked at Ryoko.

"_What wrong with him?_" Ryoko thought and asked herself. She looked outside through the window near her. "_Why does he always thinks bad about me?_", she added another question. She thought of those deeply and realized that she shouldn't be wasting her time on something unnecessary. She leaned her head against the back support of her seat and then closed her eyes. She was planning to take a nap for while and forget her problems.......at least for a few minutes.

* * *

"We're almost there," Momo announced to the senpais. He knew that Hyoutei will just be a few meters away from where their bus is. In just a few minutes, they will arrive at the school.

"Alright! I'm so excited to see them nya!" Eiji cheered with joy. All of them except Tezuka was happy and excited to see the Hyoutei regulars again. They waited patiently.

After a few moments, the bus stopped, signalling that they have reached the destination. Oishi was alert enough to notice it. He went in front of the class and faced them.

"We're now here in the Hyoutei Middle School," he announced. "Prepare your things and we'll now proceed to its tennis club."

The students followed his instruction. They once again got their notebooks and pens. The door of the bus automatically opened and then the students started to go out of the bus. After all the students got out, the senpais followed. They made the students fall in three lines and then they lead them to the courts. But just a few meters away from the tennis courts,

"YAAAHH! Atobe-sama!," one of the students, who was actually Atobe's fangirl, cheered in amazement with joy. She caught the attention of everyone.

Yes, the Hyoutei regulars are doing their club activities on the courts. They had their practice matches but were interrupted by the screaming fan. Atobe looked at the girl and in his surprise, he saw the senpais and of course, Ryoko.

"Atobe," Kawamura called as he and the others stood up on their places.

The other Hyoutei regulars looked at the guests and they were surprised to see their guests, too.

"Tezuka," Atobe called as he stood up after resting on a bench in the court.

"Tezuka?", the other regulars wondered. They looked at the guests and saw Tezuka. The regulars stopped what they are doing and focused on the visitors.

"How unusual to see you guys here again, and brought something pleasant for me," Atobe smirked and glanced at Ryoko,

"Brought something, or someone?", Fuji revealed his cerulean eyes, looking at him with a dash of seriousness.

"Haha," Atobe laughed descently. He gazed at Ryoko afterwards. Well, Ryoko just looked away to prevent Atobe's gaze.

"Aah, Ryoko-chan?", Choutaro called upon seeing her. The regulars heard him and then looked for her. In their amazement, they really did saw her. They immendiately put their rackets on their bags, fixed themselves, and then rushed in front of Ryoko.

"Welcome!", they greeted her as they bowed. They all blushed.

Ryoko wasn't really in a good mood that time because of what happened between herself and Tezuka. She just gave them an angry look and then ignored them. The regulars noticed it. They were terrified. They lifted their upper bodies and were really worried.

"W-what's wrong, Ryoko-chan?" Gakuto asked her. All of the people there stared at Ryoko.

Tezuka looked at her, worriedly. He thought that he might be the reason of her unusual self today. He had nothing to do but just stared.

"...", Ryoko hummed. This time, she wore her calm expression. They all waited for her answer. But too bad they waited for nothing.

"O-of course nothing is wrong with her today," Momo bellowed, trying to remove the worries that filled the air.

He faked a laugh. After a few seconds, the senpais (except Tezuka & Fuji), the regulars (except Atobe), and the class (except An & Sakuno) faked their laughs. They continued what they are doing unless Ryoko will smile a bit. But it seemed that it did not work. When they noticed Ryoko in her same state. They stopped laughing and then looked down in shame. They can't really make her smile like what Kippei did.

"S***, she's making too many scenes," An complained. She was pissed off by the attention the people is giving to her. She clenched her fists.

"Ryoko-chan," Sakuno called sadly.

Silence followed.

After moments of the deafening silence, a snap of fingers broke the ice. It was Atobe who made such noise. They all looked at Atobe.

"What now?", Kaidoh asked in a low voice.

"What's he up to now?", Shishido looked at him fiercely.

Then afterwards, they saw people in their uniforms dashing towards the crowd. As those enigmatic people approach, they began to notice that their uniforms are like for maids. And yes, they are maids. They brought a couch, a huge and fluffy couch and an umbrella with its stand and things that will be necessary for the thing they were planning to do.

"What the--", the senpais and the students reacted. Atobe just smiled at them.

When the maids reached the crowd, they immediately placed the things they brought on the ground properly and in an elegant manner. The students (except Ryoko and An) and Momo, Kawamura, Eiji, and Oishi gaped at them as they do what they need to do. Atobe raised his hand and snapped once again. This time, the maids who were all girls, approached Ryoko and carried her in a bridal style.

"What the--", Ryoko reacted.

"Oi, what the heck are you guys doing?", Momo asked.

Nobody answered. The maids carried her to the couch and then placed her on it. They placed the umbrella with the stand beside the couch and was near Ryoko. Three of the maids knelt one of their legs with the other one bent upward. They got huge fans and started fanning Ryoko. Then an old man, the most trusted helper of Atobe, place a circular coffee table beside the couched and placed a glass of orange juice with matching designs on the wine glass.

"Wow!", the students clapped their hands in amazement.

"What are you doing, Atobe?!", Momo asked. He was obviously envious because Atobe just caught Ryoko's attention.

Atobe smirked. He ran his fingers through his hair and then looked at the senpais.

"I know she's a bit tired because of the ride. Could it be because of your poor bus? Or because you don't treat her well?", Atobe insulted the senpais. "Right, Kabaji?", he asked him.

"Yes," is Kabaji's usual answer.

Atobe looked at them confidently.

"What?!", Momo inched his left leg and showed the public his clenched fists. He was obviously losing his temper. Fortunately, Fuji was able to stop the eruption of Momo. He tapped his back and called, "Momo."

Momo couldn't do anything but obey his older senpai. He took back his leg and unclenched his fists. He changed his expression from angry, to calm.

Ryoko stood up. She was embarrassed of what happened. She doesn't want to get so much attention. Well, in tennis, it's normal for her to be the center of attraction but in her situation now, it felt weird and embarrassing. At first they all looked at Ryoko and was dismayed when she did not cooperate with the King's plan. But oh well, when they saw Ryoko's annoyed face, they just stop staring at her.

"What are doing in here?", Oshitari asked the senpais. He adjusted his eyeglasses.

"We'll interview you guys," Eiji answered energetically.

"Why bring too many?", He asked once again.

"They're having a field trip and we're the ushers," Eiji explained.

Oshitari did not asked once again. He just turned back and walked a few steps and then stopped by Atobe.

"Jaa, may you guys please introduce yourselves to the class?", Oishi asked politely. He bowed to them as if he was begging.

Silence followed. The senpais and the regulars stared at each other seriously. Atobe then smirked.

"Why should we?", Atobe asked arrogantly.

The senpais were surprised. It was obvious that Atobe rejected them. The regulars also was surprised. But they did not intend to question the King's statement.

"Please, for the sake of these students," Oishi, in his constant position, begged for their permission.

Kaidoh took a few steps towards Oishi. He tapped his shoulder. "Don't beg to them," he stopped the poor motherhen. Momo and the others (except Tezuka and Fuji) agreed to what Kaidoh had said.

"Let's go," Momo invited his co-regulars and the class. Atobe smirked and said after the senpais turned back, "It's fine with me,"

Everyone there was surprised. They all turned to Atobe with surprised faces. The Hyoutei regulars too were surprised. They faced Atobe. When Oishi was about to thank him, Atobe added his statement, which made everyone shocked.

"It's fine with me...unless Ryoko will have a date with me."

Silence followed.

"W-what are you saying, captain," Gakuto was surprised too.

"What are you saying you bastard?!", Momo reacted angrily.

Tezuka was suprised too. But he did not show it.

"Oi, oi, Atobe," Eiji called.

"We won't let you!", Kaidoh and Inui said in unison.

"What kind of condition is that?", asked Kawamura.

"Oi, oi, Atobe. You're so unfair," Shishido told his dear captain.

Atobe just smirked, ignoring everyone's complains. Ryoko did not know how to react in her situation. She wasn't in the mood, not just because of the confrontation that happened earlier, but also because of her stupid fever. Her head ached once again. This time, it continuously ached. Ryoko became pale, especially her face and lips. She doesn't have much energy to complain anymore. She just stayed silent, not letting anyone notice her situation right now.

Atobe began to laugh. He did not expect to hear many complaints. He caught so much attention.

"You gave me some entertainment through your reactions and complaints," he continued to laugh.

"W-what do you mean?", Momo was quite embarrassed.

"That was a lie?", Choutaro asked him.

Atobe stopped laughing and then face the people with a small smile on his face.

"Exactly," he lied. Yes, he meant what he said earlier. But he was afraid to be rejected and be embarrassed by the time he will be rejected by Ryoko. He just acted as if he was just kidding.

"Atobe," they all sighed in relief.

Atobe raised his arm and then snapped again. "Shall we start now?", he asked.

"O-of course," Oishi immediately answered. It was obvious that he was not fully recovered from the shock earlier.

The regulars (Hyoutei) formed a line vertically and confidently faced the class.

"They are the regulars of the Hyoutei Middle School Tennis Club," Oishi introduced them as a whole. He walked away and gave the floor to the said regulars.

Of course, the first one to introduce was their King. Atobe stepped forward. He first ran his fingers through his hair with his eyes closed and then opened his eyes and face the class.

"I'm Atobe Keigo, the King of this tennis club," he started. Then he snapped once again. "And I'll get whatever I want,"

The girls blushed and then cheered right after his speech. Atobe glanced at Ryoko. Ryoko did not mind his stare at her because she's not feeling well. The cheers was never ending. The next one to introduce himself was Shishido and then so on and so forth. Obviously, the students jot down what they have known about them. Ryoko intended to jot notes, but it seemed that fate won't let her. When she positioned herself to write, she felt dizzy, very dizzy that made her stumble.

"Dammit," she complained.

She can't even see clearly because her vision was quite blurred. She acted as if she was okay even though she's not. She thought that's the only way to prevent people from noticing her situation. But she was wrong. She did not know that three pairs of eyes were observing her. And they have noticed what they need to notice. Who noticed her situation? They were Tezuka, who keeps on looking at her, Fuji, who knew that she was sick in the first place, and Atobe, who was quite a good observer. They did nothing but study Ryoko even more.

After minutes of introduction, Oishi and rest of his gang thanked the regulars for their effort. They decided to give the class again a break to jot down notes about the campus this time.

"15 minutes to study the campus!", Momo announced with a loud voice. The students started to scatter around and do what they need to do. The senpais and the regulars, except Tezuka, Fuji, and Atobe, gathered together to have a chitchat with each other. The three moved away and were secretly guarding Ryoko.

Ryoko, on the other hand, was feeling unwell even worse. She thought that she needs to jot down notes for her report. She looked around for a place where she will be alone to prevent people to notice her and where she could see the whole campus without wandering around. Afterwards, an idea popped on her mind.

"The rooftop," She thought that it was the perfect place to **_hide_** and jot notes.

She went straight to the staircase but before she could take a step on it, she felt much dizziness and stumbled a bit. Tezuka, Fuji, and Atobe were about to approach her, but they thought it's not the right time to do it. They hid themselves and secretly followed her. An saw Ryoko, who was going upstairs.

"Ryoko," she called. Then her lips gave off an evil grin. She looked at the poor girl.

"Hmm," she hummed, thinking that it was the right time to do something to the poor girl without anybody looking. What she did was follow her upstairs without letting her know. An did not know that the three handsome men noticed her. But those did not let An knew they were there. They observe her and Ryoko.

An took a peek on what Ryoko was doing, so as the three males. An was obviously there to do her wicked plans to Ryoko, while the three were there to guard Ryoko, who was obviously ill. They hid for a few moments.

Ryoko intended to write again, but she wasn't successful. The dizziness she felt made her unable to do anything right. Duh, she walked unsteadily when she marched upstairs. She tried and tried but she can't even write in a straight manner. She was so helpless.

"Damn this fever!", she complained. Her complaint was heard.

"Fever? So I was right," Atobe murmured.

"I was correct," Tezuka murmured.

"...", Fuji had nothing to say for he was the first one to know it.

"Fever? That's really great," An was overjoyed. She thought that Ryoko would be weak, so weak to overcome the wicked obstacles she will make for her. The four continued observing her.

"S***, I can't write in this state," she complained again. "I won't be able to make the report if I can't jot down notes,"

She laid down with her arms tangled at the back of her head and were used as her pillow. She closed her eyes, thinking that this might help lessen her dizziness.

"3 minutes left," An murmured as she read the time on her wristwatch. It was three minutes before they will now hop in the bus and go off to the next spot.

"I should work now," she thought of making her first obstacle for Ryoko. She immediately dashed to the staircase without being noticed by the three for they were seriously observing Ryoko.

* * *

"Alright," An poured some grease on the first top step of the staircase. She spread the grease all over. After the step was filled, she closed the container and kept it in her pocket. She looked at the thing she did.

"Perfect," she proudly said. She evilly smiled. "I'm sure the baby will soon cry," She giggled and then found a place to hide and hid there. She waited for the victim. She was ready to laugh her heart out seeing Ryoko suffer from her obstacle.

* * *

After two minutes, Ryoko decided to go back to the courts. She slowly stood up and brought her things with her. Too bad, her dizziness even worsened. But still, she did not mind it. She marched to the staircase. She did not notice the grease all over the floor because of her temporary blurred vision due to her dizziness. The three males did not also notice because they were too busy observing Ryoko.

"Aright baby, just take a few steps," An giggled softly, watching Ryoko and hiding in a place somewhere near the crimescene.

Ryoko did not hesitate to take steps to go downstairs. When she took the first step of the staircase, she suddenly slipped because of the grease.

"What the--," that was all she could say as she was starting to fall.

"Yes!", An cheered in joy, loudly.

"RYOKO!", the three men were petrified. There bodies moved quickly towards Ryoko. They did not know why. Were those called reflex actions? Well, they did not have time to think either.

"Gosh!", An covered her mouth. She realized that she cheered loudly earlier and was afraid that the senpais heard her. She was so afraid that she hastily ran towards the other staircase and used it to escape her crime.

"RYOKO!" they called in unison. They gave all they could to save Ryoko from falling. Too bad they were too late. Ryoko started to roll down the stairs and ended up on the other end of the staircase. Ryoko laid there for a second or two.

The three hastily went downstairs and approached Ryoko, who was now sitting with traces of pain on her face. Finally, the three reached her. They held Ryoko worriedly.

"What's painful?", Tezuka aked her with fear in his eyes.

Ryoko held her left ankle with both hands. She gritted her teeth, showing that her ankle's hurting her.

"You sprained your ankle!", Fuji said worriedly.

"I'm fine," Ryoko insisted.

"No you are not!", Tezuka doubted.

"I'll call the school nurse by phone," Atobe, who was so worried, got his phone from his pocket and quickly dialed the number. The two nodded. Tezuka undoubtedly carried Ryoko in bridal style. This time, Fuji nor Atobe had no time to be jealous. They let Tezuka carry her.

"Put me down!", Ryoko demanded, avoiding to look at Tezuka. Tezuka of course did not listened to her. He continued what he was doing. The three ran down the stairs as fast as they could.

"Put me down!" Ryoko repeated her demand. "I'm gonna get my things!", she added.

She left her things because of the accident.

"I'll go get it for you," Fuji proposed and then went upstairs to get her things.

"You go ahead. I need to phone the nurse first," Atobe informed them and then he stopped to call the nurse again. And now it was just Tezuka and Ryoko together. Silence followed. And then,

"Put me down! I'll walk by myself," Ryoko insisted . She did not look at Tezuka. Tezuka, who was running in haste, decided to speak up.

"No way," he said.

"Just leave me alone!", Ryoko commanded.

"I'll never do something reckless like that," he said.

"I know how to walk! Just leave me alone!" Indeed, Ryoko was still mad at him for all those accusations Tezuka bombards to her. She was just so angry that she doesn't want to even see him...just for a while. Silence descended for a while and then,

"Ryoko," he called.

Ryoko did not look at him but she was listening to him.

Tezuka did not look at her either, for he was ashamed of those things he did wrong to her. "I am...." he started.

Ryoko still did not look at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I made you angry," Tezuka apologized and his sincerity can be seen through his eyes.

Ryoko was surprised. She did not expect him to apologize. But she did not have time to answer back or even react, for her vision started to dim until she could not see anything but darkness. Yes, she lost her consciousness in Tezuka's arm. She fainted.

Tezuka noticed her unconscious. He was even more worried.

"Ryoko!", he called as he gently shook Ryoko.

"Ryoko!", he called once again. But there was no reply. This time, he felt her hot temperature. He guessed that she lost her consciousness because of her fever.

"_Sorry,_" he once again apologized as he ran faster downstairs.

After a minute or less, he finally reached the clinic. He knocked quickly upon reaching the clinic. Then the school nurse immediately opened the the door for she knows she'll have another patient this morning because Atobe called her earlier.

"Please come in," the worried school nurse requested Tezuka.

"Okay," Tezuka came in directly.

They both walked inside.

"Please place her on that bed," she pointed the bed where Ryoko will be placed.

Tezuka dashed to the bed and put Ryoko down on it. He gently let go off her and looked at her worriedly.

"What happened to her?", the school nurse asked.

"She fell from the staircase and sprained her ankle. On our way here, she fainted because of her fever," Tezuka explained thoroughly.

Suddenly, the two heard the screaking of the clinic door. They both turned to where they heard the sound.

"Atobe, Fuji," Tezuka called.

"Tezuka," the two called as they dashed to him. There they saw Ryoko laying unconsciously on the bed.

"How is she?", Atobe asked.

"She fainted as we dashed downstairs because of her fever, maybe," Tezuka explained.

"I shouldn't have let her join this field in the first place," Fuji regretted.

Tezuka and Atobe looked at him in astonishment.

"What do you mean?", Atobe asked seriously.

Fuji revealed his cerulean eyes again and looked down. "I picked her up for school this morning. I was the first one who knew she was sick,"

"Why did you let her join this stupid field trip rather than to let her rest at home?!", Atobe's tone was a bit higher. He was quite angry on Fuji's wrong decision because he also cared for Ryoko.

"I tried to stop her, but she won't let me,"

Silence followed.

"Okay, okay, out you boys. I'm going to check her first and I'm sure if she rested for an hour or two, she'll be fine," Good grief the nurse cooled Atobe's hot head. The three followed the school nurse and went out.

* * *

"A-re, where's Tezuka?", Eiji wondered as he noticed that he was not there. Upon hearing him, the senpais also looked around searching for their captain.

"Strange, Fuji's not here too," Oishi noticed.

"Where could've they be?", Kawamura wondered.

As they continued to look around, Inui saw Tezuka, Fuji, and Atobe approaching.

"Aah, there they are!", Inui announced. The senpais stared at them.

"Aah, captain, Fuji-senpai and....." Momo's energetic call turned to...something not energetic.

"...Atobe," Kaidoh continued.

Oishi walked towards the three, as well as the others.

"Where have you been?", Oishi asked them.

The three looked down sadly, except Tezuka.

"What's the matter?", Kawamura asked.

"Ryoko-chan had an accident earlier..." Fuji explained.

"EH?!", the senpais reacted in unison.

"W-what happened to her?", Kaidoh asked.

"She fell from the stairs and sprained her ankle," Atobe continued.

"What?!" They reacted in unison...again.

"How is she now?!", Momo asked.

"She's in the clinic right now. She'll need a rest for an hour or so," Tezuka informed the bunch.

The senpais sighed in relief.

"What are we gonna do now?", Fuji asked the captain.

Tezuka thought of it, and then he came up with an idea.

"Let's give the students their lunch break for an hour or so until Ryoko wakes up and eats her lunch,"

"Lunch break? But it's only 10:30," Eiji doubted.

Silence.

"It's okay with me. The earlier, the better," Fuji supported Tezuka's idea.

"It's okay with me too," Oishi agreed. And so all of them agreed.

"I hope Ryoko-chan will be okay," Momo murmured. Then worries again filled the air, but it vanished when suddenly, a weird noise was heard.

"What was it?", Kaidoh asked.

They all wondered.

"Anou," Momo spoke up. He held his abdomen."That was my...stomach. I'm damn hungry," Momo blushed in shame.

They all laughed (except Fuji, Atobe, and Tezuka, who were just smiling).

"Jaa, I'll have the maids prepare our lunch," Atobe suggested.

They all cheered, same exception.

"Yosh! It's EATING TIME!"

They made their way to Atobe's place in the school-which was the garden of the school. There, they ate their lunch.

* * *

"Hn," Ryoko slowly opened her eyes. She looked at her surroundings and noticed it was unfamilar. She started to move her head and lifted her body. She sat on the bed.

"Oh you're awake," the school nurse reacted upon seeing her awake.

"...clinic?" Ryoko murmured.

"Yes. You are in the clinic," the nurse neared Ryoko, bringing a glass of water and a pill.

"W-what happened?", Ryoko asked. She did not quite remember what happened.

The nurse was surprised. She stood in front of the poor girl, still holding what she was holding.

"Well, you fell from the stairs and sprained your left ankle," the nurse explained.

"Oh," Ryoko said calmly as she looked at her injured ankle which was covered with bandages.

"Here," the nurse lent her the glass of water and a pill.

Ryoko stared at those things. "What's that for?", she asked.

The nurse smiled. "It's a pain reliever. Take this to lessen your headache," she answered.

Ryoko, with no doubts, took the pill and consumed it. Then she took the glass of water and drank it. After she consumed those, the nurse took back the glass and then walked away to get something. Ryoko stared outside through an open window near where she was sitting. After few moments, the nurse went back to her with a bento. She was planning to fill Ryoko's empty stomach.

"Here, eat this," the smiling nurse tapped Ryoko's shoulder and invited her.

Ryoko looked back at the bento, expressionlessly. "What's that?", she asked.

"A bento. I know you're hungry because it's already 12:28 pm," the nurse said. "Please take it," the nurse lend it to her.

Ryoko accepted the bento. Without knowing that the bento was from Atobe, she slowly and elegantly ate the food.

* * *

"S***!", An reacted as she was catching her breath after a long but fast run. She put her hand on her chest, feeling her heavy heartbeat, and was still catching her breath.

"Why were they there?!", she bellowed with traces of fear. She was obviously scared if Fuji and the rest knew the crime she did. She did not know what to do. She never wanted the senpais to think of her as a wicked person. She shivered in fear. Her eyes was focusing on nothing. Her expression became horrible and scary. She started to sweat a lot. She knelt on the ground where she was standing.

"_Relax, relax An. Just pretend you did nothing. They did not notice you,_" she calmed herself. She took a deep breath. She breathed hard to let her worries and fears go away from her. She waited until her heart started to beat normally, not hardly nor fastly. After a few moments, those she was aiming for happened. Everything went well again. Her fears vanished in the thin air. She wore her smile once again as if nothing happened. Her face became blooming again. Everything became normal. She slowly refrained from kneeling and then showed confidence. She was afraid no more.

"Hmm," she sounded her smile. She took a step, and then took more of it. She was planning to go back to the courts now, problem-free.

* * *

"Thanks," Ryoko thanked the school nurse for the food she ate as she slowly and unstably walked towards the clinic's door. She held things that could support her walking. She indeed had a little difficulty in walking.

"Where are you going?", the nurse asked as she approached Ryoko and held one of her arms to support her.

Ryoko tapped the nurse's hand away from her arm.

"I don't need your help," Ryoko told the nurse as she continued to walk using things as her support. The nurse did not follow her anymore. She just smiled at her.

"Just take care of yourself," she reminded her.

"I know," Ryoko answered. The nurse was relieved and turned back to do the things she needed to do. Ryoko walked and walked and finally, she could almost reached for the exit. And when she was already in front of the door, she raised her heels and stretched her right hand as she tried to reach for the door knob. But before she could even take a hold of it, the door suddenly opened, making Ryoko lost her balance (because she raised her heels earlier) because she held nothing to support herself because the door suddenly opened (gets?).

"Damn--", she began to fall forward. She closed her eyes because she thought that she will really land hard on the ground for she can't anymore stop her fall.

Fortunately, she did not land on the ground. She was saved by the person who opened the door. She bumped on _him. _As a result of the impact, her face was currently buried on _his_ chest. The young man spread his arms and take a hold of Ryoko, which looked like as if he was hugging her. When Ryoko felt that she wasn't falling anymore, she slowly opened her eyes in relief. And when she felt the heat of the hug of that person's body, her eyes widened in surprise.

"What the--"

"Shhh," the young man stopped Ryoko's inappropriate statement. He tightened his hug on Ryoko.

Ryoko looked up and examined the person who saved. After a few milliseconds, she finally figured him out.

"Fuji-senpai," she called in surprise. She was still in Fuji's arms.

Fuji looked down, staring at Ryoko with opened cerulean eyes. He wore his angelic smile.

"Are you okay now?", Fuji asked.

"Yeah," Ryoko looked at him for a while and then she noticed that she was in his arms for a very long time (though it's only for 10 seconds). She blushed a bit and yanked away from Fuji's relieving arms. Fuji then let go and then hid his eyes. When Ryoko yanked off, she stumbled a bit but thanks to Fuji, he grabbed her arm to avoid another fall. Ryoko stood up straight and she took her arm back.

"W-what are you doing here?", she asked without an eye contact with him. She wasn't blushing anymore.

"I am here to check if your okay," Fuji explained with his lips still smiling.

"Well, I'm okay now and you may go," she answered frankly. Trying to get rid of him.

Fuji's smile vanished. "I can see you can't walk well," he said.

"So? I can still walk by myself,"

Fuji knew that she was lying. He knew that if she walks by herself, something unpleasant will happen to her. He sighed and then pulled his smile back. He immediately reached for Ryoko and carried her in bridal style.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Ryoko was surprised and at the same time embarrassed.

"I'm carrying you," Fuji answered.

"Put me down!", Ryoko commanded. This time, her face turned red. She tried to move carelessly to make Fuji decide to put her down.

"No way," Fuji refused. He was obviously enjoying this.

"Put me down!"

"No."

"I said put me down!"

"No and why should I?"

"because I, I'm heavy! I'm _80 kilos_!" she lied.

"Really? But your just so light," Fuji doubted.

Ryoko's face was so red because of shame. Without her knowing this, Fuji noticed her blushing. He smiled even more.

"Eh, you're cuter when you blush," Fuji teased.

Ryoko blushed even more and was embarrassed even more, making her look away to hide her red face.

"I'm not blushing! What the--! Just put me down!"

"No and that's final. If you are not comfortable this way, you may ride on my back, and if you're comfortable, I'll carry you this way until we get in the bus."

Ryoko pouted.

"Choose one," Fuji said.

Ryoko frowned. "_Dammit, the choices do no good to me! I'm not a homo to be carried by my fellow man!_" she thought.

Fuji heard no reply from her.

"So, I think you're comfortable this way--,"

"No!" Ryoko did not let him finish what he was saying. Fuji stared at her.

"I...I'd rather ride on your back," she decided.

"Okay," Fuji put her down gently and positioned properly for Ryoko to comfortably ride on his back. It took Ryoko a few seconds of doubts before she finally rode his back. She placed her arms around Fuji's neck loosely. Fuji, in turn, held Ryoko's knees and lifted himself and Ryoko. Ryoko was still blushing but oh well it's better than being carried in a bridal style. Together, they made their way to the tennis courts, with no talking at all.

* * *

"Thanks for the food, Atobe," Tezuka formally thanked him and bowed to show respect, so as the other senpais.

"I know. You better get going," Atobe requested.

"Yes, and thanks again," Tezuka again said.

Atobe and his gang made their way to the courts and resumed their interrupted club activity.

Oishi and the rest went their own ways and called the students.

"Okay class, time to head to the final destination. Hop in the bus now!" Oishi announced.

The students immediately made their way to the bus and so as the senpais. They did not go yet because Fuji and Ryoko weren't there yet. To wait for them and at the same time, not letting the students get bored, Oishi and the gang (except Tezuka) tried to make an icebreaker for the class.

* * *

"Just put me down in here," Ryoko instructed.

"Huh, Why? The bus is still over there," Fuji asked. They were just 7 meters from the bus.

"It's embarrassing me. I don't want people to think of me as a _homo_ just because you're carrying me," Ryoko explained.

"A _homo_?", he was confused.

"Err, I...said it's embarrassing and that's all,"

"Hn," Fuji hummed and then slowly put her down.

"Thanks," Ryoko thanked him as she walked away and aimed to get in the bus. Fuji, on the other hand watched and followed her to the bus. And when they both got in the bus, the senpais were relieved to see Ryoko okay now. They smiled at her, and take note, Tezuka also smiled without letting Ryoko noticed it. Ryoko proceeded to her seat so as Fuji.

"What happened to you, Ryoko-chan?", the worried Sakuno asked.

"Nothing," Ryoko answered.

Sakuno kept on asking her about the accident that happened to her friend. Ryoko just answered them with the same answer.

* * *

"_Congratulations for passing the first test, Ekahara Ryoko. But I'm sure you'll grieve before me for failing the next set of tests, or should I say, grieve in **hell**. So, I'll better prepare a cordial coffin ahead of time,_" An murmured as she giggled on her seat.

* * *

"Okay, the next and the final destination of this field trip is...Rikkaidai. So please prepare yourselves for an another journey," Eiji announced energetically. The students cheered in excitement.

Ooh, Rikkai's the next destination. What do you think will happen there? Will An do wicked things again to Ryoko? And if she will, what will those evil things be? Nobody knows yet.

* * *

**Finally done with this LONG chaptie. Gosh, I can't believe I thought of An as an angelic demon. She thought of KILLING Ryoko! But I think she will never succeed in what she is planning, for Ryoko has so many knights that are ready to give their lives for her! Oh well, thanks for reading and I hoped you like this chaptie...**

**Oh gosh I think I need some help here. I don't have any ideas for the next chapter which is entitled RIKKAIDAI. So just expect the next update to be slow approaching cuz I need to thinks some ideas for it. And if you have any ideas, please be free to tell me cuz I really need those...**

**Thank you and have a great day!**

**~lovefan123~**


	17. Rikkaidai

**Chapter 17 - Rikkaidai**

_Boom!_

The darkening of the sky was accompanied by thunder simultaneously booming after each turn. It was most likely going to rain any minute but still, Ryoko's class was driving its way to the final destination - the Rikkaidai.

"It seems the sky will really give us much rain," the worried Oishi murmured as he looked at the dark sky through an open window located beside him.

Well, he wasn't the only one who was worried, his fellow senpais were too. They were afraid that if the weather will worsen, they might have no choice but to postpone their last trip for the day. They sat still, just kept silent, and were hoping for the sunshine to brighten up the dark sky again.

_Boom!_

Another thunder shattered the tranquility of the excursionists. Some, especially the girls, were frightened while some were not. The senpais were still deciding whether to postpone or not their last excursion.

"So what now, Tezuka?", Fuji asked their captain solemnly.

"...", Tezuka hummed, still trying to find the answer for the prodigy's question.

"Aah, we came this far already and then we'll quit?", Eiji reacted upon eavesdropping the two. He was obviously not quite happy with what he just heard.

"Huh? We'll postpone the trip?", Momo asked disappointedly.

Murmurs were heard from the senpais, except Tezuka, who was still deciding, and Fuji, who was still waiting for the decision.

_Boom!_

Another thunder again made a huge noise. This time, it was accompanied by rain, not really that strong. The senpais looked at the sky with disappointment. They thought it will be the end of their field trip.

"Aww," Kawamura reacted after he looked down.

The senpais all looked at their captain. Afterwards, Tezuka began opening his mouth to announce something to the ushers.

"We better postpone the trip," He came up with that dismaying idea.

"But," that was all the senpais could react. They know they'll never change Tezuka's mind. They did nothing but to agree. Tezuka stood up and marched to the front of the class.

The students looked at him. The rain started to pour down hardly.

"Due to the heavy rain," Tezuka started. The students seemed to know what he was up to, postponing the field trip. Murmurs were heard.

"We have decided to postpone the last part of the field trip," that was his disappointing statement.

"Eh!", the students reacted. They admit that they really were excited for the last part of the trip. Some tried to convince Tezuka to take back what he said but they faltered. As the tension goes on, the bus suddenly stopped. No one noticed it but Ryoko.

"Why postpone? We are already here in Rikkaidai," Ryoko made the complainants shut their mouths. All as in all of them looked at Ryoko.

"We are?....", Oishi stated but was discontinued when he looked outside through a window. The others did the same too.

Without anyone noticing (except Ryoko), they were already in front of the Rikkaidai's gate. Everyone was surprised. It would really be a waste to just go back to the school even though they were in the destination. So why not continue?

"Tezuka, what now?", Fuji asked him. He too thought that it would be a waste to just drive back to Seigaku. Everybody stared at Tezuka as if they were begging.

"..." It took a while for him to decide. He was confused of what to answer.

Silence.

"Okay, I think it would be best to stay here for a while until the rain stopped and at the same time, we'll have the last part of trip going," the students cheered with joy. The senpais were happy too on Tezuka's decision. The senpais gathered all the umbrellas they could find. Good thing there were a lot of umbrellas stored in the bus. Each of the senpais distributed an umbrella for each pair of students. After the distribution, they found themselves _umbrella-less_. But it doesn't bother them for they should sacrifice everything for the sake of the students.

They were the first ones to go out of the bus to lead the students. They were soaked wet for having no umbrellas. The student went out by pair with an umbrella held by the hands. After having all the pairs of students off the vehicle, the ushers immediately organized them, waiting for Oishi who was seeking for the Rikkaidai regulars but he faltered. They were nowhere to be found, according to him.

Good thing the school's principal found the excursionists under the heavy rain. She immediately dashed towards them and opened a short conversation to them.

"Goodness, are you people the visitors of our dear school?" she asked.

The senpais were confused because they don't know who that elderly woman was. The woman noticed their confusion and decided to introduce herself to the guests.

"Oh sorry. I'm Dr. Ayatane Sato, the principal of this school," she let off a small grin.

The senpais bowed at her and then introduced themselves.

"Please do follow me. I won't let any guest to feel inconvenience in our school. I'll lead you to the gym," she lead the visitors.

"The tennis club are having their training somewhere in the campus but don't worry, I'll call them after."

The senpais nodded and just followed her meanwhile,

"Ryoko-chan, please come with me," An requested her.

"Come? Where?", Ryoko asked in return.

"...anou...um, just come with me!", An grasped Ryoko's wrist and dragged her as quick as possible without the others noticing.

"What the--! Where are we going?", Ryoko was puzzled. She was oblivious on what An is up to

* * *

"Just where are we going?!" Ryoko was still asking the same question but still, no answer came in.

An just kept on dragging her and ran fast, leaving their umbrella somewhere making them soaked wet. An looked around trying to find something that she planned earlier. Finally she found it. They ended up in front of...er...storage room, a dusty, small, old storage room with an opened door.

"W-what are we doing here?" Ryoma was puzzled.

An faced Ryoko with an evil grin plastered on her face.

"I have a surprise for you," she replied.

"Surprise?"

"Yes."

"You can't fool me,"

An smirked and then pulled Ryoko placing her in front of her and in front of the storage room.

"It's there inside," An said.

"Yeah right....junk and cobwebs,"

An's grin faded slowly without Ryoko noticing because she herself was at the back of her envied ENEMY. She, with great force, pushed Ryoko into the old room making her land on her knees inside it. An immediately grabbed the door and slammed it closed.

"What the--", Ryoko reacted as she tried to stand up as fast as she could to open that damn door but she couldn't because of her sprained ankle. She was too late.

An got a lock hidden in her pocket since this morning and locked the door. Ryoko was now trapped inside. Ryoko finally got on her feet. She rushed to the door and tried to open it.

"Damn it's lock," she murmured. She knocked, no, slapped the door with all her might to open it but it did not work.

"What are you doing, An?!", Ryoko yelled. But it was not heard because all of the openings were covered with glass so it's...soundproof (let's just assumed it okay?).

An giggled wickedly as she turned back and walked away. Ryoko did not call for help anymore because she knew it would be useless. She sat down with her knees in her arms and leaned against the door. An idea popped in her mind.

"_Phone_," she immediately placed her hand in her pocket. Unfortunately, the gadget that could only save her...was not there. She remembered she left it in the bus.

"Sh**, why now?" Poor Ryoko, it seemed luck isn't with her this day. She just sat there waiting for a.....miracle.

* * *

An finally reached the gym of the school. She was soaked wet. She leaned her hands on her knees catching her breath. She caught the senpais' and the class' attention. Fuji stood up with his eyes opened. Worries filled the cold air.

"An, where is Ryoko-chan?", he asked.

An's eyes widened. "_Sh**! Can't they talk about something else_?" she thought. She lifted her body, facing the people with an innocent look.

"She ran somewhere. I tried to catch up on her but she was way too fast. I lost track of her," she lied.

"NANI?!"

Tension heats up.

* * *

In the 2nd gym of the school:

"Okay, we'll be there in a minute," Sanada turned off his phone.

"What was it about, Sanada?", Yukimura patted him and then asked. The other regulars looked at him.

Sanada faced them. "Seishun Gakuen's waiting for us in the gym," he announced.

"Seigaku?", Jackal asked after doing some weight lifting.

"How strange," Marui said as he chews his bubblegum. He did some stretching.

Kirihara giggled. "Maybe their spying on us," he guessed.

"Now that's odd," Renji commented as he simultaneously hit fast balls thrown by a machine.

"It's interesting," Niou said.

"Captain, shall we?" Yagyuu asked the demigod.

They focused on him.

"It's fine, let's go then," he agreed.

They stopped what they're doing and made their way to the gym.

* * *

In the storage room...

"Dammit," Ryoko breathed heavily, since the room was so hot due to its closed feature. There were nothing but closed windows. The air outside could not even enter the storage room. Due to those, Ryoko could hardly breathe. She was sweating a lot. She leaned her head against the wall near the door so weakly. If this keeps up, Ryoko might die in no time! Even the senpais couldn't help her because this room was quite a distance from the gym and of course, they aren't familiar of this big place. Please somebody help her!

* * *

The Rikkaidai regulars marched their way to the gym. But as they passed by the storage room where Ryoko was, Yukimura noticed some differences about it. It is usually open, but now it's...close. How odd. Yukimura stopped walking.

"Eh, what's the matter captain?", Marui asked after he popped his bubblegum.

They all looked at the demigod.

"The storage room," Yukimura started while he was looking at the said room.

"What's with the storage?", Jackal asked. They all stared at it.

"It's usually opened right? But now it closed," Yukimura continued.

Niou sighed and told him, "Maybe one of the personnels just locked it. It's not a big deal."

Sanada held the captain's shoulder. "Let's go," he said.

All of them took steps except Yukimura. He can sense that something's really wrong about this matter. Instead of going to the gym, he neared to the room.

"Captain?,"

They decided to follow their leader.

Yukimura examined the room through the glass window. He was surprised on what she saw. He placed his palms against the wall worriedly.

"Hammer!", Yukimura said worriedly.

"Hammer? For what?", Marui asked.

"Just get a hammer quickly!"

Marui followed the captain's command and ran as fast as he could to find a hammer.

Yukimura tried to break the lock of the door.

"What's the matter?", Sanada looked at the inside through the window and was surprised too.

"Oi, oi, what's the matter?", Kirihara asked.

"There's a girl trapped inside," Sanada answered calmly.

"What?", Renji reacted.

"A girl? Why panic?", Kirihara stated.

Yukimura kept banging at the door. "This room is tightly closed. If this is closed, air can't enter here. When someone is trapped here, few minutes later she'll lack in oxygen," he explained.

"What?!", the others reacted. They helped Yukimura destroy the door as they waited for Marui. But the door was quite sturdy even though it's old. The only way to save the girl was through breaking the lock with the use of a hammer.

* * *

"_Dammit, I can't breathe,"_ Ryoko thought as she tried to breathe in oxygen. "Itai," she groaned right after a sharp pang on her head.

"Don't tell me--," Her head once again ached. She touched her forhead and felt her high temperature.

"_Sh**, why is bad luck with me this day?_" she cursed. She was still trying to breathe in oxygen. She did not notice the regulars who were trying to save her for the room is soundproof. She just sat in a constant position hoping to be saved.

* * *

"Here's the hammer!", Marui announced as he rushed towards the area. Upon arriving, he lend the hammer to Yukimura. He was still wondering why everybody was panicking. Yukimura, on the other hand, hammered the damn lock with all he's might. Fortunately, the lock gave in and broke into two pieces. He then slammed the door open and went inside with haste. The others followed too.

Ryoko heard the slamming of the stupid door. She looked at it slowly. She was surprised to see people approaching her. She did not notice that they were the Rikkaidai regulars due to her blurred vision because of her fever. Yukimura rushed towards her and without any doubts, carried her out. The others, some, gaped because of their amazement due to Ryoko's beauty. They followed the two out.

"...", Ryoko did not mind Yukimura carrying her anymore. She was too weak to fight back. She just stayed quiet with her eyes half-opened.

"You're sick," the demigod told her sensing her temperature. Ryoko was speechless. She looked at him to examine who he was.

"Who....are you?", Ryoko examined him. She knew she did not encounter him times ago when she was still Ryoma (did he?). Yukimura stared back and smiled.

"I'm Yukimura," he said smiling. He saw her I.D. and because of it, he knew her name was Ryoko. The others approached the two.

"H-hi, I'm Kirihara and you are?", he immediately introduced himself as he examined Ryoko. Her hair messily making her look even cuter. He blushed.

Marui pulled Kirihara away. He too, stared at the girl. He was amazed on what he saw.

"She's.....so......pretty," Jackal murmured with his face red. Niou, Renji, and Yagyuu thought the same too.

Sanada was amazed too but he did not show a trace of it.

_Boom!_

A thunder startled crowd. The sky started to pour more rain. Sanada immediately placed his jersey over Ryoko to protect her from the rain somehow. Yukimura instructed them to ran back to the gym they stayed a while ago because the other gym where Seigaku was is farther. They all ran back to the gym.

* * *

"Where could she be now? The rain's too hard," Oishi loitered worrying for Ryoko. Murmurs were heard from the others too. The senpais were so worried for Ryoko, not because she's just their student, but because she's _more_ than that.

"Tezuka, we should better look around the campus," Fuji suggested.

"Aah," Tezuka agreed. The senpais prepared themselves for the search. An got pissed upon hearing those. She thought of something to stop the senpais for their plan.

"Wait," An stopped them.

"What is it?", Kaidoh asked.

"She told me she'll go somewhere in the campus. She also told me to not follow her. I know she's familiar with this place. And I know she is safe. Just trust her, please," An lied.

Tezuka and Fuji were not convince at first, but due to An's innocent face, they were deceived. They stayed there waiting for Ryoko's come back.

* * *

Finally, the soaked wet regulars reached their training gym. They went inside. Yukimura gazed at Ryoko. He smiled upon seeing her sleep peacefully. He searched for a couch to lay Ryoko on. He was lucky he found one. He laid Ryoko on it slowly. Ryoko was still asleep. She was also wet. The others (except Sanada and Yukimura) crowded Ryoko. They examined every detail of her. They found her so cute.

"Kawaii....", Kirihara murmured.

"She's so gorgeous," Niou murmured.

They complimented her so much. They thought she's very rare to find. They just continued staring at her.

Sanada looked at her from afar. He doesn't know why he was so attracted to her in the first place. He doesn't care about it anyway.

Yukimura smiled from afar too. He just observed Ryoko from where he was.

Afterwards, Ryoko slowly opened her eyes. She fully opened her eyes and was surprised on what she saw. She blinked several times.

"Hello!", the regulars that crowded her greeted her. She yanked off the sofa and stared at them with confusion.

"What the--", she reacted.

"KAAWWAAII!", they exclaimed.

Ryoko stood there still with rainwater dripping from her long hair and clothes. She looked so cute there.

"You're awake," Yukimura stated. He smiled and then went straight to where his bag is and got his towel, white shirt and brown shorts (boys' shorts actually). He approached Ryoko and lent those things to her.

"Here. Wear these. You might get worse if you won't change those wet clothes of yours," he suggested.

It took seconds for Ryoko to take those clothes he is lending her. Yukimura grinned.

"By the way, why were you stuck in the storage room?", he asked.

"It's not important," she answered.

Yukimura did not ask further. He lead her to the dressing room.

The others including Sanada this time, felt a bit of jealousy. They just let go the feeling to avoid misunderstanding. They sat down to the couches they could find and then relaxed.

* * *

Ryoko went inside one of the cubicles of the dressing room. Yukimura stayed out the room, waiting for Ryoko. Ryoko then closed the door and started to undress when the lights suddenly turned off. Maybe the electricity was cut off due to the bad weather. The other regulars panicked.

"What the--," Ryoko cursed.

A lighting appeared, it struck the glass window located near Ryoko, breaking it . Pieces of glass flew into her and some caused her some incisions.

"Itai!", Ryoko grieved in pain.

"Ryoko?", Yukimura heard her groan. He immediately rushed inside the dressing room and into Ryoko's cubicle.

"Ryoko!", it was so dark that time. But he wouldn't be called the demigod if there's nothing extraordinary in him would he? He searched for Ryoko and with his luck, he was able to find her. Without him knowing, Ryoko was...er...not that pleasant to see. She was only wearing baby bra (a garment that reveals the abdomen of the person wearing), not a bra (see the difference?). She was still wearing her school skirt.

"What the--, why are you here?!" Ryoko bellowed. She knew she wasn't pleasant enough to be seen like this but thanks to the brown-out, Yukimura won't be able to see anything.

"I heard you grieved in pain, so I came here to check if you're okay," Yukimura explained calmly as he did not meant to embrace Ryoko.

"I got some wounds because of the broken glass pieces and that's all. You may leave now," Ryoko answered.

"But," before he could finish his statement, the lights suddenly turned on and guessed what happened? Yukimura saw Ryoko dressed with something that should not be seen by boys. Yukimura was speechless.

Ryoko panicked. She thought she shouldn't be seen like that. She blushed in shame and pushed him hardly outside the cubicle without thinking and closed its door. She was so embarrassed that time.

"Gomen, Ryoko-chan. I did not mean it," Yukimura tried to explain. It wasn't his fault to see her like that. He was innocent. He's not a pervert. He is a kind and gentle person. He doesn't want to upset Ryoko. He just went out of the dressing room, ashamed of himself.

"Sh**! Bad luck's with me!", she said as she dressed herself. She was not angry at him. She thought why she was acting so strange during that incident. She knew it was normal to see her undress because she was a man......before. But why overreact? She shook her head to get rid of those crazy thoughts and finished dressing herself.

"What will I say to her?", Yukimura asked himself. He was really worried. He knew that it's normal for girls to get mad to see them slightly undressed like that. He thought and thought of what he'll say to convince her that he did not mean it.

After moments, Ryoko opened the door of the dressing room and went out. There she was suprised to see Yukimura waiting for her.

"What are you doing here?", she asked frankly.

Yukimura nervously looked at her and apologized.

"Anou, Ryoko, I'm sorry I did not m---"

"It's okay," Ryoko answered without letting him end his statement. She did not look at him.

"But,"

"I know you're innocent. Sorry that I pushed you hard a while ago,"

The demigod's worries lessened upon hearing those words. Ryoko strolled down, Yukimura catched up to her.

"Please tell me, why were you stuck in the storage room?", he asked once again.

"It's not important," she answered.

"Please tell me,"

"No,"

"Please,"

Ryoko gave up.

"Okay, somebody locked me in there," she gave an insufficient answer.

"What? By who?"

"That's all I can share,"

Yukimura did not ask anymore.

He guided Ryoko back to where the others are.

* * *

The rain stopped and the gang decided to go the other gym where Seigaku was waiting. Ryoko went with them and informed them that she is a student of Seigaku. She also informed them that they are having their field trip here. With these information, they headed to the other gym.

* * *

"45 minutes passed, where could she be?", Kawamura asked the people in the gym. They were so worried.

"I guess we should find her now," Fuji once again suggested.

"Okay!", the other senpais agreed. They rushed towards the door and opened it. To their surprise, they saw Ryoko...with the Rikkaidai regulars.

"Ryoko!", they greeted. They were also surprised on her attire.

"What?!" An was surprised to see her.....free.

"Yukimura," the Seigaku regulars were surprised at his presence.

Fuji rushed towards Ryoko and held both of her shoulders.

"Where were you in the past 45 minutes?", he asked with worries visible through his cerulean eyes.

Ryoko glanced at An. An looked away to avoid meeting her enemy's gaze. Ryoko looked at Fuji, with no intention to answer his question.

"Somebody locked her in the school's storage room," Yukimura exposed.

"EH!", everyone reacted.

An was so terrified. Ryoko gave Yukimura a glare.

"Why did you announced it?", she asked as softly as possible.

"Cause I wanna know who did that to you," he answered.

"You were locked?!", the senpais stated. They all gazed at An.

An was so scared with all the stares bombarding at her. She thought fastly of her excuse.

"W-why are you looking at me like that? I, I'm not the one who locked her in there!", she lied. She waved her hand 'no'.

"It's not a big issue. I'm just okay," Ryoko said. The senpais refrained from gazing at the real culprit. They focused their attention to Ryoko and the Rikkai regulars.

"Ja, shall we introduce ourselves to the class?", Kirihara announced.

It took seconds for them to respond. They were still recovering from the shock.

"Yes, please do," Oishi answered.

The class fell in lines and squat on the ground. Kirihara was the first one to introduce himself because he was the first one who suggested it. As the introduction went on, Ryoko grabbed Yukimura's hand and dragged him out of the place. Yukimura was surprised but he did not stop her. When they finally got out of the place, she let go his hand and faced him.

"Why did you announced it?", she asked him, obviously referring to what almost happened earlier.

"They must know it," Yukimura answered.

"It's not a big deal after all,"

"You don't want us to know who really is the culprit?"

"Cause it's not a big deal. She'll be kicked out if you all will know,"

Yukimura paused for a while.

"You mean, she really is the culprit? The one everybody stared at earlier?", he suspected.

Ryoko was speechless for a while.

"I was right. I'll let them know," Yukimura was about to leave the place. Ryoko grabbed his hand to stop him.

"I wasn't harmed," she insisted.

"You almost died there. They should really know,"

"Just give her one more chance please," she insisted. She knew she could ruin her life if this will spread. She doesn't want to.

Yukimura saw that in her face. He decided to not tell anybody else about what he knew.

"Okay fine I won't," he smiled at her. "But if she'll do it again, I'll definitely tell the truth,"

Ryoko nodded.

"But there's a condition," he added.

"What? What condition?", she did not expect his words.

Yukimura smiled. "You'll be with me this sunday," he said.

"What?!"

"You heard me right,"

"But,"

"Okay I'll tell them--"

"Wait, fine!", Ryoko agreed with doubts.

"There's no taking back,"

"Fine,"

"Thanks," Yukimura giggled while Ryoko pouted. But she couldn't do anything to this blackmailer.

She went back to the gym so as Yukimura. The introduction continued and finally it ended. Afterwards the senpais bid their goodbye to the Rikkai regulars because they needed to go. Yukimura glanced at Ryoko smiling as Ryoko ignored it. After moments, they are off to go home.

* * *

**Yeah I know this chaptie sucks! So sorry. And also, I apologize for updating this so late. It's been two weeks since I haven't updated this story. I know this really suck but expect that the next chapter will be mainly about Ryoko's date with Yukimura. I don't have any ideas about the date yet so please give me some. Now, i guess it's time to decide the pairing. Who do you think Ryoko will end up with? It's up to you I guess. Thanks for reading this chaptie.**

**Thank you and have a nice day!**

**~lovefan123~**


	18. A Date with the Demigod

**Chapter 18 - A Date with the Demigod **

Rrriiiinnnngg!

Ryoko's alarm clock began to ring at exactly 8:30 am. Ryoko got pissed by its noise. She slapped it hard to shut it off. Her eyes were still half-opened. She was still sleepy. Why? Because she kept on thinking about her deal with Yukimura a day ago.

_~flashback~_

_"Okay fine I won't," he smiled at her. "But if she'll do it again, I'll definitely tell the truth,"_

_Ryoko nodded._

_"But there's a condition," he added._

_"What? What condition?", she did not expect his words._

_Yukimura smiled. "You'll be with me this sunday," he said._

_"What?!"_

_~end of the flashback~_

"Uurgh!" Ryoko buried her head under her pillow upon remembering those stupid things. She can't believe she'll go on a date - and the worst part is, it will be a date with a MAN!

"I'm not a homo!", Ryoko said with her head still buried. "Why did I agree on his condition? I should have let him blurt out what he knew about An!", she regretted. But her regret was too late. There's no turning back, according to Yukimura. What will she do now?

"Young man?", Suzuki called from afar. She decided to go to Ryoko's room.

"Young man," she slammed the room's door open. Ryoko stopped burying her head under the pillow and turn to Suzuki miserably.

"What now?", she asked.

Suzuki leaned her back against the wall of Ryoko's room. She gave off a malicious smile. Ryoko glared at her.

"Hehehe...", Suzuki giggled.

"What's funny?", Ryoko asked as she sat down on her bed.

"Hurry up and get dressed!", Suzuki ordered.

"Why?"

"....",

"....",

"Duh! You'll be late on your date with that rikkai boy," she giggled once again.

Ryoko's eyes widen.

"How come you knew?", she asked.

"I know everything, young man. I just know it,"

"I don't want to," Ryoko refused.

Suzuki smirked. "Should I make the curse....5 years?", she blackmailed.

Ryoko gulped and had no other choice but to.....go on with that stupid date. She got up and went straight to the bathroom to bathe herself.

"Now that's more like it," Suzuki murmured and went downstairs to do some things.

"_Damn this day!_", Ryoko cursed as she took her shower. She thought of this day as her worst day ever. Huh, regrets are always in the end. How she wished this day did not come.

After a few minutes, she went out of the bathroom to dress herself. She prepared her long-sleeved shirt with a pair of jeans, a man's jeans actually. She combed her hair and tied it in a ponytail style and wore her favorite fila cap, which she just bought recently. She wore her sneakers and went off downstairs.

"Holy--!", Suzuki reacted upon seeing Ryoko's......tomboyish outfit. "What the hell are you wearing?!", she screamed.

"....", Ryoko ignored the old woman's question.

"_Hmph, I hate your cocky attitude,_" Suzuki thought. She watched Ryoko strolling down the stairs with her stupid get-up. She glared at her.

"What are you looking at?", the cocky girl asked.

"Change your attire this instant!", Suzuki ordered.

"No way," she refused calmly.

"Change it!"

"No way."

"Change it!"

"No way."

Their argue continued and was stopped when,

_Beep! Beep!_

Somebody blew the horn of his car. It seemed that he was Ryoko's date of the day - Yukimura Seichi.

The blowing of horn caught the two's attention.

"I guess it's your date!", Suzuki guessed.

"Dammit!", Ryoko cursed.

Suzuki turned to Ryoko and chanted a magic spell. After which she snapped her fingers upward. Suddenly, a light flashed at Ryoko and just after split seconds, her outfit changed from tomboyish look to the sossy type of get-up.

"What the--! What did you do?!", Ryoko reacted upon seeing the strange thing that happened to her.

"I just want you to look presentable," Suzuki answered.

"Presentable? I even look like a homo!"

"Uh-uh!", Suzuki waved her index finger 'no'. "You are a _girl_ now, young _man_," she continued.

"Bu---", before she could even finish her statement, Suzuki walked away to the door then to the gate and opened it just to reveal the descent, young man waiting.

"Oh hi! I'm Ryoko's mother and welcome," she greeted Yukimura. "Oh there's no time to waste, here she is!", she rushed towards Ryoko and pushed her towards the demigod.

"What the--!"

"Uh-uh! Cursing is bad," Suzuki whispered to Ryoko.

"Stop it!", Ryoko declared.

"Want the curse to last 10 years?", Suzuki again whispered, making Ryoko shut up and stayed silent. Suzuki faced Yukimura smiling as she continued pushing Ryoko towards him. When they were close to each other, She pushed Ryoko hard, making her bump Yukimura and making Yukimura hold her tight.

"Thanks for waiting and have a nice _date_!", Suzuki immediately closed te door to avoid Ryoko to go back.

"_Damn her!_", Ryoko once again cursed.

"Are you okay, Ryoko?", Yukimura asked. He stared at Ryoko, who was still in close contact with him due to them bumping each other. Ryoko realized herself in Yukimura's arms and then she yanked away.

"I'm okay," she calmly said.

Yukimura smiled and held Ryoko's hand gently. "Let's go," he invited as he carefully drag her to his car. Ryoko took her hand back and suggested, "I'd rather ride in a bus or something like that."

Yukimura stared at her and agreed to her suggestion. "Okay, if that can please you," he said.

"_Whatever!_" Ryoko thought. She gave off a cute pout. They both walked to the bus stop they could find.

* * *

"Alright! I'll ask her for a date today!", Momo, who was making his way to Ryoko's house, tried to cheer himself up from nervousness. He faked a smile and confidently marched.

"But what if she'll reject me?", he doubted. His confidence transformed into timidity. He imagined what Ryoko might say or react. He was really afraid of rejections. He shook his head to throw away all his negative thoughts and tried to start the day with a smile.

After a few minutes, he finally stopped in front of his beloved's house. He looked at the huge house and began to feel so much pressure, nervousness, and stress.

"Gulp!", he swallowed his saliva uncomfortably. "I...I...guess this is it," he stated with his hand shaking fastly and with his feet rooted on the ground he was standing on. He began to sweat a lot.

".....I....", he reacted. "I...have to.....do this,"

He slowly moved his foot forward and took a lot of time just doing that simple thing as if his foot was strongly magnetized by the Earth's gravity. He breathed much oxygen and breathed out hard to calm himself. He took another step, and another step, and another step. He reached the gate of her house finally. And then, with his hand shaking, he pressed the door bell button for the Ekahara residence to recognize his presence.

_Beeeeeeeeeep!_

"Oh is that the cocky young man again?", Suzuki irritatedly guessed. "I guess I'm wrong," she took back her guess when she felt a different aura from the person, an aura different from Ryoko's. She marched to the door then to the gate to check that somebody out. She opened the gate and was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Oh....you..."

"Good morning ma'm," Momo gave her a smile as he greeted her. He was obviously nervous.

Suzuki smirked at the young man. "What can I do for you?", she asked.

"Anou...", Momo's eyes started to wander around in timidity. His sweat dropped. He scratched his head to think of words, decent words, asking a date with her daughter.

Suzuki raised an eyebrow, impatiently waiting his answer. "So...?", she tried to ask again.

"Anou.....is....is..," Momo was still undecided. But he had no choice but to continue his statement because no guts, no glory. ".....is Ryoko-chan...here?", he asked after he 'gulped' loudly. His hands were still shaking.

Suzuki smirked once again. "Ah, Ryoko? He's with some....Rikkai guy. Yeah, I think the man was part of the Rikkaidai tennis club," she acted innocently as if she did not know who that person is, even though she know Yukimura completely.

"WHAT?!", Momo was shocked on the news. He froze. He even forgot to breathe for seconds.

"I said, she's with some rikkai guy. They're on a DATE that's what I know," She spoke emphasizing the word DATE for it to get the attention of Momo.

"THEY'RE ON A WHAT?!", he's eyes widened even more, and was shocked even more. He felt dismay for himself and envy for the guy who took Ryoko's first date.

On the other side, Suzuki did those emphasizing, not telling who Ryoko's date was, and all was purely on purpose. Her main goal today was to get all the guys who knew Ryoko go crazy about the date. She thought that this day will give her a great show. Everything was planned, based on her.

"Jaa, I apologize. She's not here," She gave off a smile and then closed the gate and went inside the house.

Momo was still in the state of shock. He froze there in a full minute, and then realized the horible thing that happened. Without hesitations, he picked his cellphone from his pocket and hastily called Eiji, the first name in his contacts. He waited for Eiji, who was actually with Fuji, to answer.

_Riiiiiiiinnng! Stopped._

"Hello?" Eiji answered his phone at last.

"EIJI-SENPAI! There's a very SERIOUS PROBLEM!", Momo yelled in fear.

"Eh? A serious problem? What is it?", Eiji's tone was a bit curious, making Fuji's curiosity on.

"Who's that, Eiji?", Fuji asked.

Eiji put the phone down for a while and turned to Fuji for a while. "It's Momo," he answered and then held his phone near his ear.

"Ryoko-chan is......Ryoko-chan is..",

Eiji's eyes widened with worries. "Ryoko-chan is what?!", this made Fuji worried too.

Momo told everything he just knew to Eiji. After moments of explaining.....

"WHAT?!", Eiji reacted.

"That's what her mom said!", Momo said.

"Who could that very lucky guy be?!"

"I don't know. We MUST know who he is! I'll call the others to help us investigate...."

"Fuji and I will start searching for them in some _romantic places_ for a date. I'll inform you if we found them already,"

"Okay," Momo hunged up his phone and so as Eiji.

* * *

"What's the problem, Eiji? You look so....worried," Fuji asked.

Eiji grabbed Fuji's shoulders and faced him with teary eyes. "Ryoko-chan's dating someone today!", he announced.

Fuji's cerulean eyes opened and now was fully opened upon hearing the news. "She's dating someone? Who will he be?", he calmly spoke but he was feeling a bit jealousy on that someone deep inside.

"I don't know Fuji. All I know is to investigate who he is!", he said with a croaked voice. "Ryoko's mom said she was sure that guy is a member of Rikkaidai's tennis club! We should go to the said school first to find out who he is!", he let go off Fuji's shoulder and dragged him to start searching.

"Demo," Fuji's conjunction made the red-headed tennis player stop.

"What is it now, Fuji?", Eiji asked impatiently.

"Schools are closed on sundays,"

The hyperactive player totally forgot about that stupid thing. "AAARRGGHH! What are we going to do now?!", he was again in his 'teary-eyed' mode.

Fuji thought and then came out an idea. "Like what you said, we should search them in some romantic places for a date."

This made Eiji smile a bit. "Good idea! Now let's go," he dragged the prodigy again.

"It's better if we split up," Fuji suggested.

"Good idea! I'll go this way, and then you go that way," Eiji started pointing out directions. They have both agreed and went separate ways.

* * *

"WHAT?! Ryoko-chan's on a date?!" Kawamura reacted on the phone.

"Yes, senpai. She's actually dating a rikkai guy. No one still knew who he is. So we really need to investigate for her safety," Momo explained further.

"Okay, I'm on. I'll find an excuse to my father so that I can investigate somehow. I'll call you afterwards," Kawamura hunged up his phone so as Momo.

* * *

"RYOKO'S ON A WHAT?!", Kaido reacted.

"She's on a date with some rikkai guy and yet no one knew who he is! I really need your help in investigating this case, for her safety," Momo explained to his eternal-rival-but-a-friend-by-now guy.

"Sure. I'll be there in a minute," Kaido hunged up so as Momo.

* * *

"WHAT?! NO WAY!", Oishi reacted.

"Yes, senpai. She's dating a Rikkaidai regular and I still don't know who he is. Please help me investigate that someone," Momo explained further to the mother hen of Seigaku.

"I will. I'll be there," Oishi hunged the phone up and so as Momo.

* * *

"There's 0.5% chance that you are lying," Inui reacted.

"I am not lying, Inui-senpai. She's really dating some rikkai guy who is still unknown! I need your intelligence in this case, senpai. Please," Momo explained to his 'data-freak' senpai.

"Okay. I'll go there," Inui hunged the phone up and so as Momo.

* * *

and the last but not the least to be called....

"Captain Tezuka, Ryoko's dating someone. According to her mom, the guy was a regular in the Rikkaidai's tennis club and we still don't know him. Ple---", Momo was hunged up by Tezuka, not letting the reporter finish his report.

"Captain? Captain?", he knew Tezuka hunged up the phone already. Momo turned off his phone.

"Captain's not interested at all," he murmured.

on the other hand...

"_She's on a date with a.....rikkai guy?"_ he thought of it. He felt a pang of jealousy inside him. He was curious of who that person is.

* * *

"Jaa, where do you want to go?", Yukimura asked Ryoko, who was sitted next to him in the bus.

"Anywhere," she answered without having an eye contact with the demigod. She slouched on the bus seat.

"Anywhere?", he asked.

"...." Ryoko hummed.

"You hungry?", he tried to open up a conversation.

"I just ate already," she lied. She didn't even had a breakfast due to his early 'visitation'.

"Hn," Yukimura hummed. He thought of a place where he could make her enjoy this date. An idea flashed his mind.

"I know a perfect place to enjoy, Ryoko," he immediately inform her.

Ryoko looked at him blankly.

* * *

"Okay, you go here, then you'll be here, and then.....", Momo started assigning places to search on to his co-regulars upon the arrival of everyone. So far, none complained about their destination. After moments of assigning, they started their search.

* * *

".....an...amusement park...eh?", Ryoko stated upon examining the place where Yukimura brought her to. It was a indeed an amusement park.

Yukimura gazed at her again with a bright smile. "Yeah. I thought of a place that would be enjoyable and then I came up with this," he explained.

".....", Ryoko did not say a thing anymore.

"Jaa, let's start this with a Ferris wheel ride," he invited as he held Ryoko's hand and went straight to the Ferris wheel ticket booth and then to the Ferris wheel itself.

* * *

"You found out anything yet?", Momo asked Eiji on the phone.

"No. I looked in some fancy restaurants, but found nothing. You?", Eiji asked in return.

"Not a trace."

"How about the others?"

"Negative."

"What? Let's just.....continue searching."

"Okay." hunged up both phones.

* * *

After an ordinary ride on the Ferris wheel, Ryoko was still not happy, as if nothing happened. Yukimura noticed it. He tried to open up a conversation with her to avoid boredom. But still, it did not work.

"Jaa, want a ride on the 'Haunted Train'?" he invited her once again.

"No, it's boring," she answered frankly.

The demigod smiled hopefully. "You'll not know if you won't try," he said as he drag Ryoko gently.

* * *

"Why am I so...worried over that date?", Tezuka asked himself with his head rested on his palm in his room. It seemed he kept on thinking about it right after he knew this big news.

"_Should I go?_", was the question bothering his mind. He thought then of all the negative things that might happened in Ryoko's date. This made him decide at last.

"I should go," he said as he grabbed his travel necessities and went straight out the house.

* * *

"_Where could you be?_", Fuji thought as he was catching his breath while running fastly after each examination. Too bad, he still did not see her and with that unknown someone. He still was hopeful and decided not to give up.

* * *

After 5 minutes in the 'Haunted Train', Ryoko was still unhappy. She wants this day to end as fast as possible. Yukimura was again dismayed of himself. He gave his best to please her on their date, but it seemed it was not enough. He was about to give up when he heard the sound of a ball being hitted back and forth. He turned around to find it.

"Tennis," he said.

This caught Ryoko and looked at the direction Yukimura was looking.

"Tennis...", she repeated his statement.

Upon hearing what she said earlier, he stared at her and noticed her passion for tennis through her eyes.

"You play tennis?", he asked.

"....yeah," she answered.

Seichi smiled. "Want to play with me?"

Ryoko's eyes widened. And at the same time, she was happy. A smile slowly grew on her face making Seichi happy as well.

"Sure," she answered willingly. Seichi held her wrist and off they went to the tennis court....in the amusement park (let's assumed there is).

* * *

"Thanks, here's the payment," An gave her payment to the ice cream vendor in the amusement park, where, coincindentally?, Ryoko's date takes place.

She licked her ice cream and started wandering around the park. After minutes, a hitting of a ball back and forths caught her attention and made her want to go to the place where she thought the sound came from. To her surprise, she dropped her unfinished ice cream seeing her mortal enemy.....and Yukimura, who were actually enjoying themselves playing tennis.

"What the---,! Ryoko...", she said using an angry tone.

She hid herself behind a nearby tree. It angers her seeing Ryoko happy or being with some guys. She thought of another plan to hurt Ryoko, to make her feel pain. And as expected, she came up with it for an instant. She then moved out of the place and searched for the INGREDIENTS of her wicked scheme.

* * *

It was already 12:30 pm and at last, their match was done with Ryoko winning the game.

"Wow, you're a great tennis player," Yukimura complimented her, without a trace of 'tiredness'.

Ryoko stared at him. "Liar," she insulted him.

"Liar?", Yukimura played innocent.

"I know you did not play seriously,"

Seichi was speechless and surprised of her being a good observer. We all knew (for those who watched the OVA) that his playing style was extraordinary. He was called the 'demigod' because he steals his opponent's senses during the game making them so helpless. He doesn't want Ryoko to experience those horrible things. So he went easy on her.

"I played seriously. Was I not focused on the game?" he asked.

"Don't fool me."

Yukimura smirked. "But you enjoyed it didn't you," he said.

"...." without a word, she went to the umpire and returned the racket she used.

Yukimura smiled and then did the same thing. He speed up his pace to catch up Ryoko.

"Ne, you did not answer my question yet," he said reaching for her.

"It's unnecessary," she answered.

"It necessary to answer a question."

"Whatever."

Yukimura giggled loud enough for Ryoko to hear it. "But I saw you smiled when we played," he insisted.

"...I...I did not."

He giggled again, with hope this time. He held Ryoko's hand and dragged her to a restaurant nearby to have their lunch date.

* * *

After hours of searching, the Seigaku regulars were so tired that they wanted to give up. But they still go on with it.

* * *

After a delightful lunch paid by Seichi, he decided to invite Ryoko to ride all they can in the park. Ryoko agreed just to finish this day off, and because her acceptance was her change for the lunch they had earlier.

Yes, they rode all they can until it's finally 5:00 pm, a reasonable time to go home. Ryoko noticed the time and was happy about it. She immediately faced the demingod expressionlessly, not showing happiness about the time. She really thanked the time for being fast. At last, she can go home.

"Thanks for those rides and the lunch. I need to go home now," Ryoko told Yukimura as polite as possible. Seichi smiled and offered her a ride to her home but she refused it. She preferred to go on her own.

"Are you sure?", he asked Ryoko.

"Yeah," she answered.

Yukimura sighed and gave her another smile.

"Jaa, goodbye and have a safe trip to home then," he told her.

"I know, bye," she bid her goodbye and walked away. When she was out of his sight, Yukimura went off to his house as well.

* * *

On Ryoko's way home....

"_Thank goodness that date has finally ended,_" she was grateful that the sun was finally setting down. She walked her way home but was interrupted....by a pair of.....dangerous-looking guys. They blocked Ryoko's way.

"What's girl doing here in this time?", a big guy with big muscles said with a scary voice.

Ryoko ignored them and tried to pass through them, but they won't let her.

"Wait, wait. It's too dangerous for a beautiful girl like you just walking alone," another guy with a weird hairstyle said ith a croaked voice as he grasped Ryoko's hand.

"You're blocking my way," She told them without a trace of fear.

"Yare, yare. How rude of you, little girl. We're just trying to help you," the big guy said.

"Just come with us," the weird-haired freak added as he tightened his grip on her.

"I don't need freaks," she tried to free her hand from the freak but his grip was too tight making Ryoko wince.

"Aah enough of those 'good-guy' talk. Just come with us brat." they dragged her.

"Yadda!"

"Oh yeah?", The big guy examined her carefully and saw her weakness - her sprained ankle.

He giggled. "You won't?", he asked evilly. And then, he kicked Ryoko's sprained ankle hardly.

"Itai!", she reacted, making her stumble and wince again. She gritted her teeth in pain.

The men giggled. "Aww does it hurt?", the weird-haired teased.

"Oops! Sorry I did not mean it," the big guy bursted in laughter.

"Let....me......go," with her tone in her voice, it was obvious she was really in pain.

"You're stubborn, brat. If you don't come with us, we'll just do what we want to do to you here this instant," they dragged her into a corner of the place (the place was deserted that time) and pushed her to the wall hardly, making a strong impact on Ryoko and the wall. She was on her knees weakly.

"Hehehehe," they giggled excitedly as they rubbed their palms against the other. Slowly, they neared Ryoko. Ryoko tried to fight back, but the big guy grasped on her injured ankle with a lot of force, resulting pain on her part.

The weird-haired freak grabbed on her shirt, with an intention of breaking it.

"_Sh**! I can't.....fight back....Damn this sprained ankle of mine!_" she cursed silently. "_Could somebody......help me....please?_" she prayed silently, as the guys were trying to undress her. She really needs help.

"Stop it," she told them weakly, but they just ignored her.

They freaks continued what they're doing. As the guys was about to _destroy_ Ryoko's shirt, a series of strong punches landed on the two.

"Itai!" the freaks cried.

Ryoko looked up to check who did that to them. She was pleased to see.....

"Fu...ji....senpai," she called weakly. There, she saw a furious Fuji, with his eyes fully opened.

Fuji pulled the two and gave them what they deserved. He punched them hard, making them feel much pain.

"Please....stop!", they cried.

Fuji glared at them as he continued giving them a lesson.

"Why would I? You did not even stop what you were doing when she asked you to stop, so why would I?", he gave them a series of punches, giving them bloody wounds until they lost their consciousness.

He stood there for a while to watch the two having their beauty sleep. He unclenched his fists and looked at Ryoko, and then rushed to her.

"Ryoko!", he reached for her and then hugged her tightly. Ryoko did not move. She just let him hug her as long as he wants because she was still in a state of shock. Fuji really cared for her deeply, that seeing her being abused like that makes him furious.

"I'm so sorry if I came in late to protect you," he apologized sincerely, still embracing her tightly. He was really worried. He was teary that time, but he tried his best not to cry. He stopped hugging and he held Ryoko's cheeks gently. He looked at her closely.

"Please speak," he was trying to make her recover from the shock.

Ryoko looked back. "I'm.....okay," she answered. Well, she wasn't traumatized because of what happened to her. She was actually surprised on Fuji's expression lately. It was so different from the smiling prodigy. It was.....scary too. But she was really grateful to him for saving her again.

"Arigatou," she thanked him.

Fuji stared at her for a while with worries.

"Arigatou for saving me again," she again thanked him.

A smile slowly grew on the prodigy's face. He was touched by her words. He appreciated it so much. He stood up and offered a hand to her. Ryoko, without malice, took his hand and stood up.

"I'll go home now," she said. She was about to go when the prodigy held her hand. Ryoko looked at him.

".....I...I want to make sure you go home safe. Would you mind if I accompany you home?", he asked.

"No," she doesn't know why she feels comfortable when she's with Fuji. But she never made it a big deal. She thought it's just ordinary to feel comfort towards him like that. But is it just _ordinary_?

Together, they went off to Ryoko's house for Fuji to secure her safety again from freaks. They did not know that those freaks they call were paid by, An.

* * *

An on the other hand was furious and disappointed for her failed plan again.

"Sh**!", she screamed in anger after she landed her clenched hands on the desk of her room hardly.

"Why does she always win?!" she wondered. She gritted her teeth.

"I'll...I'll make sure.....that I won't fail next time," she cursed.

* * *

**Yay! Finally done!**

**Credits to:**

**lovelyanimeangel**

**kaisnumber1fan**

**for their wonderful ideas. I can't finish this chapter without your precious ideas. Thanks guys!**

**Hope you like this chapter. **

**Thank you and have a nice day!**

**~lovefan123~**


	19. The Love Potion

**Chapter 19 - The Love Potion**

_Inui's house ~ 7:15 p.m._

"Okay, just a little more ginseng...", Inui, who was actually wearing a lab gown and goggles, murmured upon throwing the ginseng in the test tube with some boiling...green water in it. Afterwards, he let it boil even more above the fire of the alcohol lamp. He slowly moved the test tube in a clockwise motion to spread evenly the heat from the flame of the lamp. He waited and waited until green smoke (quite impossible huh?) makes its way out of the tube. The smoke smelled really awful.

"Alright," he said as he lifted the tube with some green stuff in it away and killed the fire of the lamp. He stared at what he made and evilly laughed. "Success!", he cheered as he poured his invention into an empty bottle of water and tightly closed it . He took off his lab gown and goggles and then went straight to his room still holding his mysterious creation. Upon arrival, he rushed to his school bag and placed it there. He excitedly sank on his bed, waiting for tomorrow to come quickly.

_The next day..._

"I'm off," Ryoko announced as she picked her bag up from the sofa.

"Jaa, take care, _young girl_," Suzuki teased her again making Ryoko annoyed.

Ryoko went straight to the door and went out of it and then slammed the door closed. Suzuki just giggled watching her and just went to her room. Ryoko walked her way to the school.

~In school~

"Aah! Inui's so early!", Eiji was amazed seeing his data-freak friend arrive ahead of him in school. It was the first time though. He glomped on Inui and did his childlike act.

"Aah, hi Eiji, hi Inui," the mother hen soon arrived.

"Hey, Oishi," Eiji greeted him as well.

"Good morning, Oishi," It was very unusual hearing Inui with that 'mysterious' tone of his. The Golden Pair noticed the difference. They also observed Inui's expression changed. It was like, happy...with an intention, bad or good intention, laying behind his expression. Eiji stopped his glomping on his data-tennis pal and went near Oishi. Inui, on the other hand, walked away...smiling.

"Heh? Inui's like...overjoyed...or something like that," Eiji whispered at his doubles partner upon examining him from head to toe.

"...Yeah, there's something...fishy about him," Oishi whispered too. He observed Inui very carefully.

"Hey, Oishi. Hey, Eiji!", Fuji, upon arrival, greeted them as he approached the duo. He greeted them with his usual angelic smile. His greeting broke the two's concentration in finding the root of Inui's...alarming difference.

Eiji turned to the tensai and rushed to him. He hid himself at the prodigy's back with his head revealed. He whispered to the tensai.

"Fuji, Fuji. There's something strange about Inui," he stated.

"Something strange?", Fuji looked at their topic.

Oishi neared the two. "Aah. He's been acting strange," he confirmed.

"What made you say that?", that's the prodigy's question.

"You see, he arrived in school earlier that he usually does. He even arrived earlier than me!", Eiji explained.

"And look, he smiles weirdly. He even smiles more frequently than he does!", Oishi added.

"Hn," Fuji opened his eyes, observing Inui. "Isn't that a great thing?", He closed his eyes again and sees those they call 'strange things' as an achievement.

"A great thing? He, smiling so creepy, isn't a great thing at all!", the red-headed doubted.

"Hn. I see nothing at all is wrong with him," Fuji insisted.

The pair sighed signalling their defeat.

"I give up, Oishi. Fuji don't believe us at all," the red-headed complained.

"Aah. I know. It seems like it's just between to two of us," the mother hen answered. He neared his partner and was about to drag him to somewhere when...

"Aah! I almost forgot!", Eiji alarmed everyone in there.

"What is it, Eiji?", his partner asked.

His hyperactive partner jumped in haste. "I gave my best to find her! But I did not find her! I don't even know who the hell was she dating with?", he panicked.

"I did the same too. But I did not figure out anything!", Oishi was infected by Eiji's virus called 'panic'.

The two panicked. Fuji was just calm. He watched the two.

"Oh, Ohayou, Fuji-senpai," Momo greeted with a gloomy voice.

"Ohayou, Momo," the tensai greeted him as well. Momo turned to the panicking ones and wondered, "Why are they panicking?"

The pair heard Momo's voice and then rushed towards him.

"Did you know anything yet about the date?", Eiji asked him.

Momo looked down. "Nope. Not even a clue," he answered.

"What?", Oishi reacted.

"AAAAAHHHHH! Just who the hell she was dating with?", Eiji cried. They panicked. They did nothing but to create noise.

Fuji decided to speak up, just to shut the three.

"She actually dated...", he started, making the three freeze and focused on him.

"...Yukimura Seichi," he continued, he revealed his beautiful eyes that time. Seconds of silence passed and then,

"EEEEHHHH?", the three reacted loudly.

"H-How did you know Fuji?", Momo asked eagerly.

"I saw them once...in the amusement park. Well, it was already 6:00 pm so I did not bother to call anymore," the tensai lied.

"Eehh? A date in the amusement park?", the trio again OVER reacted.

Wondering how Fuji knew Ryoko dated Seichi? Here's what happened.

_On their way home, Fuji couldn't help but ask things on Ryoko. Ryoko was indeed annoyed with all those questions the tensai is bombarding her, but oh well._

_"Ne, who was your date?", Fuji asked her frankly._

_"Hn," Ryoko hummed without answering the question._

_"Okay. It's fine with me if you'll not answer," he told her._

_"*sigh* Okay fine. I was with Yukimura," she answered briefly._

_Fuji was surprised on her answer. It made him silent for a while._

_"Well, it wasn't really a date though," Ryoko added. Fuji's curiosity turned on._

_"What do you mean?", he asked._

_"Hn," she hummed again._

_"Please?"_

_"Hn,"_

_"..."_

_"Okay fine I'll be honest with you," she finally agreed._

_Fuji smiled._

_"But don't tell it to anyone or else..."_

_"..."_

_"*Sigh* It all started with a blackmail," she said._

_"A blackmail?"_

_"Yeah. I told him not to tell anyone that An's the o-", she realized she talked much._

_"That An's what?" he asked her._

_"Nothing."_

_"Tell me."_

_"It's not important."_

_"Please."_

_"Fine. That An locked me inside a storage room. I almost died because of lack of oxygern in there."_

_"What?" Fuji was shocked._

_"Yukimura promised he won't say a word about it...If I'll be his date this Sunday. He's such a blackmailer," she complained._

_Fuji was relieved. He thought Ryoko liked him already that's why she accepted him to be her date. But he was worried too, especially when he finally knew how wicked An is._

_"I thought you liked Yukimura," he said._

_"Like HIM? I'm not a homo!", she insisted._

_"A homo?"_

_"Never mind."_

_Fuji giggled then silenced._

_"About what happened earlier," he started another topic._

_"Don't mention it to anyone as well," she warned._

_"Why didn't he drive or just even accompany you home?"_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"Because I don't want him to do so. Now no more questions."_

_Fuji giggled and then silenced._

_"Be careful with An," he warned her._

_"I know. But don't spread what I told you," she reminded her of their deal._

_"Yeah. I won't forget that," he promised._

_"..."_

_They both walked until Ryoko reached her home._

-~~End of the flashback~~-

"A date in the amusement park?", they reacted.

Fuji giggled. "Yeah. What's wrong with it?", he asked.

The trio was silenced. They were expecting a romantic place for a date but an...amusement park? Anyways, Tezuka heard everything since Fuji told them about the mystery guy who happened to be Ryoko's date. He was surprised. He never thought Yukimura was that guy. But it happened already, so he couldn't do anything to change tha past. He marched down to his tennis people, as if he hadn't heard anything earlier.

Afterwards, Kaidoh arrived and so as Kawamura. The regulars were now complete. Tezuka called on the regulars. He was about to instruct them on their tasks when the sky downpoured rain hardly. The senpais seperated and went to the nearest shade they could find.

"Eh? Why rain so suddenly?", Eiji wondered. He remembered it was really hot moments ago. The other senpais wondered too. Tezuka had no choice but to cancel the morning practice.

"Due to the rain, we should postpone our morning activities," Tezuka announced.

The senpais did not react. They calmly reached for their bags when...

"Ah! Ryoko-chan!", Momo called upon seeing his loved one. He smiled her.

"Ryoko?", the other senpais turned to where Momo was looking. There they saw Ryoko. Inui, upon seeing her, rushed to the nearest vending machine. He took money from his pocket and then quickly inserted his money to the said machine.

"_Ponta_", he thought of that beverage because he often see Ryoko drinking that drink.

"There is 99% possibility that it is her favorite drink," he guessed. He pressed the button to choose the said drink. After moments, he finally got a grape-flavoured Ponta. He picked it up and looked at it and laughed evilly. He opened it. Then, he picked a bottle from his bag containing the green liquid he made last night. He opened the bottle and gave off again an evil laugh as if he is planning something...bad. He held the green stuff over the opened Ponta. He slowly poured some of that mysterious liquid into the Ponta. Afterwards, a green smoke popped and was spread all over the can. The smoke do smell awful.

"Alright," he cheered.

He smiled evilly and then ran his way to the courts.

"Why, Ryoko-chan? Why?", Eiji cried as he shook Ryoko.

"Why Yukimura? Why not me?", Momo cried as well. All crowded Ryoko, except Tezuka, who was just listening few feet away from the crowd.

Ryoko was annoyed. "I told you, that was not a date," she tried to explain.

"Demo, you spent your Sunday with him. And that is a date!", Oishi cried.

"Ryoko-chan why?", Kawamura asked so disappointingly.

Stupid reactions were bombarded to the poor girl. So many reactions and questions, she tried to explain but they did not listen. She was so annoyed. Questions were again being bombarded to her.

"...What did he do to make you...date him?", Kaidoh asked expressionlessly, though inside he was about to cry.

"Do you like him?", Eiji asked, he was still crying.

Everyone shut their mouths up. Eiji's question was quite intriguing. They were waiting for her answer. No mouths were opened.

"_Does she really like him?_" is the question on their minds. They waited and waited.

Silence. Ryoko broke the ice suddenly.

"I'm not a homo," was her insufficient answer. The senpais stared at her.

...

...

...

Silence. Then suddenly,

...

...

...

"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!", the senpais, except Fuji and Tezuka, bursted into laughter. They thought it was just a ridiculous joke.

"WAHAHAHAHA! You're so funny, Ryoko-chan!", Momo said. Fuji giggled.

Ryoko was annoyed even more. She pouted, making her look even cuter. The senpais continued to laugh. After moments, Inui arrived, with a can of Ponta in his hand. He took deep breaths from a long run. When he had enough, he joined the crowd, with a strange smile plastered on his face.

"Inui," Eiji who was still laughing called as he saw his data-freak senpai. Inui ignored him. He went near Ryoko and offered her the Ponta he was holding.

Spectators looked at him, seriously.

"...I know you like Ponta. I decided to buy you one," Inui stated. "_Alright, just accept it,_" he thought.

Ryoko noticed something strange about him. She stared at the beverage and examined it.

"An opened one...huh?", she exclaimed.

"Eh," Inui's sweat dropped. He immediately looked for a reason to cover up his plan. "Anou...I...I," Ryoko raised an eyebrow at him.

"Anou...I don't want you to waste your precious time just opening a can. So I opened it for you," he lied.

"Eh?" Ryoko was not that convinced. She looked at the beverage for a while and then decided accepting it. She took the drink from him.

"_YES!_", Inui cheered silently.

"Wow, Inui! Bravo," the others clapped their hands in amazement for Inui's courage.

Ryoko lifted it and was about to drink it.

"_Alright, just a little,_" Inui prayed.

She at last sipped a bit of the drink. She swallowed it and then when she had enough of it, she stopped drinking.

"_SUCCESS!"_Inui cheered silently.

"...H-how did it taste?", he asked her.

"Huh?", she reacted. She suddenly felt dizzy. She stumbled.

"Ryoko?", Fuji called.

Ryoko did not respond. She was really dizzy. She stumbled again and then this time, collapsed due to unconsciousness. She landed on the ground.

"RYOKO!", Everyone panicked. They rushed to the unconscious lady, including Tezuka. Inui laid Ryoko's head on his lap while Fuji stood in front of the girl. Everyone was so worried.

"Inui! What did you do to her?", Eiji furiously asked.

"Let's bring her to the clinic!", Oishi said. He was about to carry her when Inui stopped him.

"No need," he doubted.

"What do you mean?", Momo asked.

"What did you do to her, Inui?", Tezuka asked.

Silence.

"...All I know is that there's no need to bring her to the clinic," he informed.

"But," they doubted.

"Just trust me," he insisted. The senpais were still worried. But they do trust the data-freak guy. They waited for the girl to regain consciousness.

Afterwards, Ryoko slowly opened her eyes. She saw the image of Fuji in front of her because the prodigy stood in front of him didn't he?

"Ryoko!", the senpais called.

"_Alright!"_ Inui cheered. He looked at Ryoko. He wanted her to look back too but she just didn't. Instead, she focused on the one she saw first when she woke up-and it was Fuji.

"_Please don't tell me..._" Inui panicked.

Ryoko blinked several times. She was still looking at the prodigy.

"Ryoko? Are you okay?", Fuji asked.

Ryoko blushed. She shyly looked at Fuji, then looked down.

"Ryoko?", Fuji called again, then he slowly lifted his hand towards Ryoko's shoulder. And upon the slightest touch of him, Ryoko hastily stood up and leaped away from Fuji, with her heart thumping so hardly, and her face so beet red.

"I-I'm okay Fuji-s-senpai. S-sorry if I m-made you worry..," she answered with a shaky, but gentle voice. She looked at the opposition of Fuji's direction. She clutched her chest.

"Ryoko-chan?", everyone was surprised by her sudden change of actions and her weird attitude.

"Ryo...ko?", Fuji was puzzled as well. Ryoko reacted weirdly just by hearing Fuji's voice.

"W-what is it, F-fuji-senpai?", she asked. Everyone was more confused.

"Did I do something wrong? Why do you act so...weirdly?" the prodigy asked.

"H-huh, I-I act so weirdly? I-Is he starting to k-know my f-feelings to him? D-does h-he hate me b-because I-I act weird?", she thought negatively, with fear, a tear started to roll down her cheek.

"R-Ryoko-chan?", people started to panic, seeing Ryoko crying. Fuji was surprised.

"Ryoko-chan are you okay? What's wrong?", Eiji neared Ryoko and placed his arm on her shoulders. "Oi Fuji what did you do to Ryoko-chan?" he furiously asked. Everybody crowded her, except Tezuka, who just inched a bit, and Inui who was acting suspiciously.

"R-Ryoko?", Fuji asked, as he inched a bit. Ryoko sobbed.

"_Ryoko-chan's acting so weirdly, what could've happened to her?_" was the question in the senpais minds.

"Oi Fuji-senpai what did you do to her?", Momo asked. He neared Fuji with a furious look.

"Are you the one at fault in this incident, Fuji-senpai? Fuushuu..," Kaido followed Momo.

Everyone, except Tezuka who was just observing, Inui, and Oishi who's trying his very best to cheer Ryoko up, followed the rivals. They surrounded the poor Fuji with looks as if they're gonna eat him alive.

"Gomen, Fuji senpai, but I can't forgive someone who makes Ryoko-chan cry," Momo said as he clenched his fists, so do the others.

"E-Eh? B-but I did not do anything?", Fuji insisted.

"Stop lying, Fuji," Kawamura said. Altogether, they inched towards the 'culprit'. There was no escape.

Ryoko hastily wiped her tears and went inside the circle and stood in front of Fuji, facing the furious guys and spread her arms, defending Fuji.

"S-Stop! D-don't hurt Fuji-senpai o-or else...I-I'll be against you all," she innocently threatened them. Fuji was shocked, so as the others.

Silence.

"EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!", the others reacted.

~End of Chapter~

**I'm really really sorry I updated this chapter so late. I apologize for that. I hope you like this one and please send me some reviews. YES I WANT REVIEWS, REVIEWS, REVIEWS! Hehehe. Stay tuned for the next chapter entitled...um...I don't know yet. But I'm sure the next chapter will state why Ryoko's attitude suddenly changed and I know you know a bit already. Yeah, Inui's mysterious invention had something to do with the sudden change. The next chapter will be more on Ryoko...the GIRLISH Ryoko and Fuji.**

**I decided I'll make this one a FujiRyo fanfic so please...don't get mad at me if you don't like the pairing, okay?**

**PLEASE REVIEW OKAY?**

**Thank you and have a nice day!**

**~lovefan123~**


	20. The Change

_**Hey everyone! I'm sorry for a super late update. Anyways, I changed the ending of chapter 19 so please read it again. I also change Ryoko's NEW but TEMPORARY attitude I hope you'll like it.**_

~~Start of Chapter~~

**Chapter 20 - The Change**

"Ryoko? Are you okay?", Fuji asked.

Ryoko blushed. She shyly looked at Fuji, then looked down.

"Ryoko?", Fuji called again, then he slowly lifted his hand towards Ryoko's shoulder. And upon the slightest touch of him, Ryoko hastily stood up and leaped away from Fuji, with her heart thumping so hardly, and her face so beet red.

"I-I'm okay Fuji-s-senpai. S-sorry if I m-made you worry..," she answered with a shaky, but gentle voice. She looked at the opposition of Fuji's direction. She clutched her chest.

"Ryoko-chan?", everyone was surprised by her sudden change of actions and her weird attitude.

"Ryo...ko?", Fuji was puzzled as well. Ryoko reacted weirdly just by hearing Fuji's voice.

"W-what is it, F-fuji-senpai?", she asked. Everyone was more confused.

"Did I do something wrong? Why do you act so...weirdly?" the prodigy asked.

"H-huh, I-I act so weirdly? I-Is he starting to k-know my f-feelings to him? D-does h-he hate me b-because I-I act weird?", she thought negatively, with fear, a tear started to roll down her cheek.

"R-Ryoko-chan?", people started to panic, seeing Ryoko crying. Fuji was surprised.

"Ryoko-chan are you okay? What's wrong?", Eiji neared Ryoko and placed his arm on her shoulders. "Oi Fuji what did you do to Ryoko-chan?" he furiously asked. Everybody crowded her, except Tezuka, who just inched a bit, and Inui who was acting suspiciously.

"R-Ryoko?", Fuji asked, as he inched a bit. Ryoko sobbed.

"_Ryoko-chan's acting so weirdly, what could've happened to her?_" was the question in the senpais minds.

"Oi Fuji-senpai what did you do to her?", Momo asked. He neared Fuji with a furious look.

"Are you the one at fault in this incident, Fuji-senpai? Fuushuu..," Kaido followed Momo.

Everyone, except Tezuka who was just observing, Inui, and Oishi who's trying his very best to cheer Ryoko up, followed the rivals. They surrounded the poor Fuji with looks as if they're gonna eat him alive.

"Gomen, Fuji senpai, but I can't forgive someone who makes Ryoko-chan cry," Momo said as he clenched his fists, so do the others.

"E-Eh? B-but I did not do anything?", Fuji insisted.

"Stop lying, Fuji," Kawamura said. Altogether, they inched towards the 'culprit'. There was no escape.

Ryoko hastily wiped her tears and went inside the circle and stood in front of Fuji, facing the furious guys and spread her arms, defending Fuji.

"S-Stop! D-don't hurt Fuji-senpai o-or else...I-I'll be against you all," she innocently threatened them. Fuji was shocked, so as the others.

Silence.

"EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!", the others reacted.

"Is this serious?", Momo cried.

"Ryoko-chan...", Eiji bursted into tears.

Tezuka was surprised too. He looked at the girl.

"Shhh...This can't be...real," Kaidoh doubted.

"What happened to her?", Kawamura worriedly wondered. The circle was dismantled.

"_Dammit. I failed,"_ Inui, who was just at a corner thought.

Everybody froze. They never thought she'd say that. I mean, why would she defend Fuji so bravely? Ryoko stared at the _frozen_ guys. She blushed as she glanced at her admired one.

"_This is bad,_" Inui thought as he tapped his forehead.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAHH!", they all cried, except Fuji and Tezuka, obviously. After their loud cry, they glared at Inui, making the data-freak guy insecured.

"Huh...," Inui reacted.

"I-N-U-I!", they bellowed.

"Gulp!", Inui started to run for his life.

The senpais began chasing him. They chased and chased as if Inui was their just run at his full speed to save his life.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO RYOKO-CHAN?", they bellowed, still chasing him.

"I...I...did not do anything!", Inui lied.

"LIAR!", they accused him.

"Just say the truth!", Eiji stated.

"Inui-senpai!", Kaidoh said in an angry tone.

"I...I...", Inui speeched.

Ryoko put her hands down.

"A-anou, F-Fuji-sama, w-what are they talking about?", she inched a bit towards Fuji, who was speechless that time, looking down, blushing. It was obvious she was shy.

And when the prodigy came back to his senses, he looked at her with his eyes fully opened. He gave her his angelic smile.

"Hmmm, they want to know what Inui did to you," he answered honestly.

"W-what he did to me?", she became confused. "B-but nothing's wrong with me. I-I'm perfectly fine," she insisted.

Fuji pouted. He knew something was really wrong on her. "You see, something changed in you," he explained the situation insufficiently.

"Huh?", she wondered.

"_Ryoko,_" Tezuka looked at her worriedly.

"I-N-U-I-S-E-N-P-A-I!", the furioused senpais bellowed in anger. They were still in their dog-and-cat act.

"I...I," Inui started.

"YOU WHAT?"

"I...I.."

"HURRY UP OR WE"LL KILL YOU!"

"Ok fine! I'll tell you everything!", Inui stopped running, so as the others. The data-freak guy breathed hard, catching his breath. The senpais did the same too. And when they had enough, they glared at each other.

"Shhh, now tell us what you did," Kaidoh asked furiously.

Silence descended. Inui looked down. And then, he fell on his knees which had caught everybody as in everybody's attention. He shivered in horror. He covered his face with his both hands in shame. He was really pitiful if you look at him. But that did not touch his fellow senpais.

"I...," he began.

"A-anou. F-Fuji-senpai, w-what are they doing to Inui-senpai? I-Inui-senpai's so pitiful," Ryoko stated as she stared at the senpais, with her head down. She secretly stared at Fuji.

"Hn," Fuji stared at the senpai as well.

"Hurry up, senpai!", Momo impatiently complained.

Silence.

"I...I made a potion last night," Inui at last began to explain.

"A potion?", Eiji and the rest were puzzled.

"_A potion?_", Tezuka thought the same too.

"Yeah. I made a potion. In fact it was a love potion,"

"A LOVE WHAT?", everybody reacted. Some reacted loudly, while some silently.

"Yes, a love potion. Everything was planned. I planned them very carefully. But it still did falter. The love potion will be effective once consumed..." Inui explained further.

...

...

...

Everyone began to think.

"Ahh! The Ponta!", Eiji guessed.

"Huh? The Ponta?" is the question on their minds.

"Yes. It is used to make one fall in love with you. With its incredible use, I tried to make one for...you-know-who," Inui tried to not mention any name because if he does, he's sure Ryoko will get angry at him when she recovers.

"You mean-" Kawamura tried to guess.

"Shhh!" Inui hushed.

"You sly," Momo said.

"I put some potion to the drink so that the potion will be consumed by...you-know-who...without any suspicion. She did consumed it, so I was happy. I thought this will be the greatest day ever because at last she'll fall for me, but ...", Inui stopped.

...

...

...

...

"BUT WHAT?", curiosity rained.

"The person who consumed it will fall in love to the person he/she will see first. But it happened to be Fuji," he was saddened.

SILENCE.

"A-anou, Fuji-sama, what a-are they talking about?", Ryoko asked the tensai.

Fuji heard her. He faced the poor girl and intended to tell her the whole truth.

"Ryoko-chan," he knelt with his right knee before her and placed both of his hands on Ryoko's shoulders, making Ryoko blush even more. He smiled.

"_F-Fuji-senpai,_" she thought as she tried to look away so that Fuji wouldn't see her red face. Inui saw them.

"You con-" Fuji started and was interrupted.

"FFFUUUJJJIII!", Inui stopped the tensai. He panicked as he approached the prodigy as fast as he can to cover up the crime he did. Upon arrival, he covered Fuji's mouth.

"Inui!", the others called.

"Please don't tell her if you don't want me to suffer!", Inui whispered at the prodigy's ear. "She'll get mad at me and I'll die if that happens!" he panicked.

Fuji just gulped. He doesn't know what he'll do - whether he'll say the truth to Ryoko or to save his friend. Confusion overpowered him.

"Fuji, I beg you...please?", Inui begged further, with his hand still covering the prodigy's mouth.

"But,"

"Please?"

"Hm.." the tensai said. He held Inui's wrist and moved it to uncover his hand. He looked at Ryoko. Inui shivered.

"It's just about Inui's experiment. Don't mind them," he said.

Momo and the others looked at Fuji with eyebrows raised.

"Oi, Fuji," Momo called as he grabbed the prodigy far from Ryoko.

"Why did you lie to her?", Momo whispered. He held Fuji closer so that no one could hear.

"I did not lie to her. I just said it's just Inui's experiment and don't mind them. Is that lying?", he answered.

"Ok fine. Why did you not tell her the truth? that she is under a sort of spell that made her act so strangely?" Momo rephrased his question.

Fuji gave off a sigh and answered, "It's because Inui begged for it. He said if I'll tell her the truth, she might get angry to him and that will kill him. I know it is wrong, but he did beg for it."

Momo was surprise and was upset. He wanted Ryoko to know what happened to her so badly not because he wanted to truth to unfold, but because he was jealous seeing Ryoko 'in love' with his senpai who happened to be Fuji. If it happened to be himself, he would not want Ryoko to go back to normal. Let's just say...he wants Ryoko to go crazy for him as well as he's crazy for her. It's just a matter of selfishness.

"But it's so wrong! Y-you are intelligent Fuji-senpai but your choice is wrong!", he tried to make Fuji change his mind. His voice was loud enough for the others to hear.

"Oi, oi, Momo what are you two talking about?", Eiji asked, who was far from them. The others looked at the two.

Momo neared the other senpais and told them the situation, trying to persuade them to agree on his opinion - telling the truth to Ryoko.

"EH?", they reacted. After some moments, his plan succeeded. All of the other senpais (except Inui of course) agreed on Momo.

"Fuji, we should tell the truth to the poor girl. I know you were just forced to keep the truth because Inui begged you, but remember this will just teach him a lesson," Oishi convinced the prodigy.

"That's right. Fuji, Inui might do this again if he won't be punished!" Kawamura added.

"Fuuushuuu! Althought he's our friend, it will never be the reason for us to always defend him even if he's wrong. We sometimes should break the chain," Kaidoh stated.

"You heard that Fuji-senpai? They meant what I meant. They want the truth to unfold," Momo said.

"Hn," Fuji hummed as he absorbed all they have said. "Is that so?" he asked.

"Yes, Fuji-senpai. Please do," Momo said.

"Ok," Fuji did not think anymore. He walked towards Ryoko as well as the others. Their move was easily understood by the culprit - Inui. He started to panick. He did not know what to do. The prodigy and his company stood in front of Ryoko making her wonder.

"A-anou, w-what's the matter?", she asked with confusion.

Silence. Fuji then broke it.

"Ryoko-chan, there's something y-", his statement was interrupted by a loud scream.

"NO!", Inui dashed towards him but was stopped when the others grabbed his both arms and held it tightly.

"Fuji, NO!", he cried.

"Inui-senpai, this is for RYOKO's sake," Eiji told him.

"No, please no!", he begged.

He begged and begged, but this time, Fuji was not moved. He was about to tell Ryoko when he was again interrupted by the ringing of the school bell.

"_Dammit!_", Momo thought. "Say it already!", he said.

"Y-you wanna s-say something Fuji-senpai? W-What is it?", Ryoko asked. Fuji looked at her in the eye.

"Okay. Ryoko you-," the prodigy was again interrupted.

"Ryoko! Ah! There you are! We were looking for you minutes ago," Tomo, who was with Sakuno, said as they run towards her as if they were in a hurry.

Ryoko looked at them as well as the others. Upon Tomo's arrival, she hastily grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"A-anou, w-what is it, T-Tomo-chan?", Ryoko asked as they snatched her away.

"Ryoko," Fuji reacted.

"We need to plan our report," Tomo said quickly.

"Oi! Where are you going?", Momo asked.

"Gomen, Momo-senpai! Something came up! Gomen!", Sakuno apologized as they flee away.

"_Dammit! Why now?_", Momo cursed as Inui sighed in relief.

* * *

"A-anou, I made the visual aids already," Ryoko responded to Tomo, who was really worried for their report.

"Thank goodness!", Tomo cheered.

"Tomo forgot to assign the tasks for the group members to do. No one was told to make the VA's. Thank you Ryoko-chan," Sakuno added.

"N-no,i-it's nothing", she smiled innocently.

"Huh? A-are you okay,Ryoko-chan?", Tomo asked with her eyebrow raised.

"H-huh? I-I'm okay, w-why you ask, T-Tomo-chan?"

"Tomo...chan?", Sakuno wondered.

"EH?" Tomo hastily touched Ryoko's forehead. "B-but you're not sick!", she asked.

"W-what d-do you mean", Ryoko was puzzled.

"What happened to you? You're usually umm, a bit rude and cocky and impatient.." Tomo tried to explain.

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno stopped her.

"I-I'm rude?..", Ryoko said in a shaky voice. She was hurt, tears started to form on the edge of her eyes. "I-I'm s-so sorry if I-I'm being rude t-to you..." she said.

"Ah no no no no...y-you're not rude. Hehehe. I-I'm just kidding!, Tomo panicked.

"Tomo-chan's right.Y-you're not rude! So don't cry, Ryoko-chan," Sakuno said, trying to cheer her up.

"G-gomen," Ryoko apologized.

"N-no,no. I should apologize. I'm so sorry, Ryoko-chan, hehehe," Tomo said. "_Did something wrong happened to her?_" that as the question in Sakuno's and Tomo's mind.

Their teacher went in and the class soon started.

* * *

"_Damn, when will Ryoko-chan know the reality? Until when will she be in love with Fuji? AAAAAAHHH! Dammit!",_ Momo thought as his teacher taught the lesson. Yes, he was not paying attention to the teacher at all. He was pissed seeing his loved one love somebody else (well, who doesn't?). He thought of it over and over again, but ended up being punished by his teacher for not listening.

* * *

~Lunch Break~

"Nya Fuji, I'm really worried about Ryoko..." Eiji told Fuji as he placed his books in his bag.

"I know..," Fuji answered in a sad tone. He waited for Eiji to finish packing his stuffs.

"Ah, Fuji," Eiji stopped packing his things and hastily looked at his tensai friend. "Until when will the potion be effective?", he asked.

"The potion?", Fuji began thinking. "Now you mentioned it, when will the potion wear off?", It seemed that they forgot to ask the culprit.

"Let's ask Inui right now!", Eiji grabbed his bag.

"Okay," said the prodigy. They rushed towards the door, that time, they noticed somebody hiding behind the side of the room's door.

"Huh? Who's there?", asked Eiji. As they neared the person, the figure started to clear up. It was a girl holding a lunch box with her fingers fiddling unstably.

"Ryoko?", Fuji guessed, with his eyes opened.

"EH? Ryoko-chan?", Eiji was surprised upon seeing Ryoko at the other side of the door. "What are you doing here?", the cat-like tennis player asked. The boys looked at her, making her feel more timid.

"Anou..." her fingers were still unstably wandering over the lunch box wrapped with purple cloth. She looked down, with her face was beet red.

"R-ryoko-chan?", Eiji called.

"A-Anou...anou...", her voice was shaking.

"Ryoko?", Fuji called.

"_Ryoko-chan's not like herself today. Did the potion changed everything about her?" _Eiji wondered. "_But it made Ryoko-chan actions ladylike, even made her a lot cuter!_" he thought with a silent giggle.

"Anou...,"

"Hmm?"

"A-anou, F-fuji-senpai," At last she gave off another word aside from 'anou'.

"M-me?", the tensai reacted.

"Eh? Fuji again?", Eiji reacted negatively.

Ryoko's face turned red even more. She clenched her fists and then gathered some courage, gulped in a second...and hastily but gently pushed the lunch box into Fuji then ran away.

The boys froze in shock. Then they looked at what she gave Fuji. The prodigy then opened it and saw a bento.

"A bento?", Fuji wondered.

"EEEHHHH? RYOKO-CHAN GAVE FUJI A BENTO?" Eiji cried.

~~End of Chapter~~

_**What do you think of this chapter? I know most of you might dislike this so I'm sorry cuz I can't think of any bright ideas for this chaptie anymore. I stopped writing for 3+ months because**_

_**1. I started and am trying to finish watching Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden.**_

_**2. I'm busy plaing Ninja Saga.**_

_**3. I want to rest.**_

_**4. So busy with those stupid school works (I could kill the one who invented and introduced education.)**_

_**And you know what?**_

_**The "NEW PRINCE OF TENNIS" manga was released! But it's still on going! I can't wait for animators to animate this new series of POT! Try to read the manga. HEHEHEHE. That's all folks. Any suggestions for the next chaptie? Any comments? Please please please please review.**_

_**~lovefan123~**_


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